Haruka Kanata The Far Away Distance
by ellonen
Summary: Under threatening circumstances a young woman, the heiress of the Hyuga, has to make a journey to the Cloud Village with her protector. Long lost friendships, enemies and rivalries will be restored as the story continues.
1. Memories of That Day

Author's notes applying for every future chapter:

Due to the certain circumstances, I do no happen to own Naruto. I'm just borrowing the characters from Kishimoto-sama for this story.

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First chapter: Memories Lost In the Storm

 To the sky beyond the flying birds--

 A young little girl was walking in the corridors of a seemingly empty and cold residence. She padded softly beside the walls in the shadows, not receiving the slightest bit of attention. Her foots took her where ever she wanted to but currently she wasn't heading to any particular direction. Suddenly, when she was passing a darkened room she heard voices.

"There's no choice then. If my life will save the village", a man's voice said.

There was a short pause. "Hmm", was the simple reply to the other man's desperate words.

The girl sneaked closer to the room where the voices were coming from. She peeped through a chink in the door and first her eyes met her father who was looking very depressed. After observing him a little while her gaze slid to her uncle, and then to Hokage-sama, one older man, and several Leaf-Jounins. The young girl was quite alarmed when she felt the nervous and gloomy atmosphere in the room.

"Hold on, Hiashi."

The old clan leader's face was almost expressionless and if there was any sign of emotion, it was anger or frustration. He went on, saying harsh and cruel words. "The advanced blood of the Hyuga clan is a valuable trump card to this village. Protecting that has been the duty of the Main Family."

The small form at the door saw her father sweating a little and hastily making his reply. "But before that duty, if the village is drawn into a dangerous war…" Hiashi fell silent. 

"I know." The older man exhaled slowly and deeply, trying to release the tight feeling that was building up in his chest.

Suddenly, the small white eyes at the door widened when the owner of the eyes saw the fearful and startled look on her father's face.

"That's why the Branch Families exist." The black haired man paused, as if reluctant to say anything more. It was a little while before he had the resolve to say those sorrowful words. "We will have to hand over Hizashi's body in place of yours."

The little girl saw her uncle coming from behind the older man's back, taking a place next to him. Hiashi was growing more confused as the discussion went on.

"Hizashi has already agreed."

The brothers looked at each other for a moment. Hiashi looked shocked and as if his eyes were searching for an answer from his brother's face but they gave him nothing but a determined and fearless look.

"But what they want is the secrets of the Byakugan abilities. With Hizashi's, once he's killed, that ability will be sealed." The man who was the victim of all the tension and depression in the room, Hiashi, tried to decline. "I don't see the Cloud Village being satisfied with that." He was now sweating and his voice was almost trembling.

"Heh, that may be their true intention", the older man replied. "But the demand from the Cloud Village was simple. 'Hand over Hyuga Hiashi's body.'" Hiashi's eyes darted back to his identical brother. "If we act like we've agreed and hand over Hizashi's body, which is a duplicate of yours… They won't be able complain any further."

There was once again a nerve-racking silence between the three. The young girl remained unnoticed in the doorway, looking at them. She didn't see any expression cross her uncle's face and her father was being torn apart by confusion and frustration.

"Hiashi", the old man said softly, "the time has come. Each generation has protected the Hyuga blood in this way. You must have the heart to let go of even a sibling to protect that blood." 

Hiashi looked so sorrowful that the girl almost ran to him, but she stopped herself at the last moment. Oh, how she wanted to comfort him, even though she didn't quite get what was happening. It was something very serious, that much she'd understand even if she was deaf. They were talking something about war and preventing it, and she thought the best thing anyone could do was to sneak away from the door to leave them alone.

"And that's the destiny of those born as Hyuga", was the last thing her sharp ears caught before she walked around a corner. The girl felt a piercing pain in her heart but didn't understand why.

At that time she wasn't aware of how important the discussion between those three was or how terrible it would have been if she had told that she knew about it to someone. But the thing she did understand was that next day, Hyuga Hizashi was nowhere to be found and that her father was mourning for him. The day was gloomy and where ever the girl was, she could see people crying silently, alone. She knew that Hizashi's missing had something to do with the discussion she had been listening yesterday.

Many unanswered questions were swirling in the little girl's mind. What had they exactly been talking about? Where was Hizashi? Had they sent him away? Has something serious happened to him? Why were people crying? Did it have something to do with her father? There were no answers for answers to these questions. All she knew was that his death was one thing among the many others that made her life, her father's life, the lives of all Hyugas, more sorrowful and hateful.

And so she continued to live her life, the memory of her uncle's death slowly eroding away with time.


	2. Messenger of Destruction

Second chapter: Messenger of Destruction

It was a dark day in the Konoha Village. It wasn't raining yet, but the clouds were clinging so closely to the ground that it was obvious the rain would come and very soon. People were trying their best to avoid getting wet and were rushing through the streets to finish whatever errand they had. The dark grey clouds gave a low rumble and some people looked up to the sky thinking if there would be a storm.

A young woman could be seen walking in the restless street. She had her hood cast on her face so no one could see what she was thinking. But even if the hood was pulled down to her shoulders the white eyes wouldn't reveal anything. Wouldn't or couldn't. The woman hurried her pace to get home before the storm would begin. She pulled her coat tighter around her form to escape the cold. Turning around a corner she heard someone calling her name. She instantly raised her head and her muscles tensed; she was obviously nervous about something. The voice was muffled because of the strong wind.

"Hinata-sama!" came the calling again, this time it was a little closer. The woman, Hinata, saw a dark figure before her. She burrowed her eyebrows slightly. What could bring someone to her in this weather? She judged the form in front of her and came to a decision that the figure didn't mean any harm and was seemingly waiting for her to come closer. She walked towards the figure, lessening the gap between them.

"What brings you to me in this weather?" she voiced her thoughts aloud, straightening her somewhat slumped form. She appeared to be tall, taller than an average woman.

"Th-there is bad news, Hinata-sama. Please come with me quickly." Now Hinata noticed that it was a man. She heard his voice trembling. Was it from running, or was it something else? Fear, perhaps?

"Alright", Hinata replied, without too much hesitation. "I'll come with you if you tell me where we have to go and what does it have to do with me."

"Uhh- Right. We should go to the Hyuga residence and there you will learn the details." The man turned on his heels and gestured that Hinata would follow him. " I'll tell you this: it's going to be a war." They both fell silent. He gave Hinata time to recover from the shock of the word 'war' but when Hinata almost instantly gave him an affirmative reply it was he who got startled.

Hinata sensed his tensed form and easily guessed the reason. "Why waste any time here when something as important as this is going on?" Her eyes examined the man. He nodded and started to walk again. Hinata followed a little behind, wondering what was going on.

They walked in silence for a while and Hinata heard the man murmuring to himself. She didn't express her thoughts aloud but inside she was trying to get some sense to it. What on earth was going on? She had asked that several times already but she didn't have any answers.

"Umm", Hinata began softly, "do you happen to know what I have to do with this affair?" Her hands straightened her thick pullover absent-mindedly. Even though she was surrounded by different people all the time, she still felt uncomfortable around them. Maybe it was because she never opened up to anyone. She was silent and well-mannered with others and that side of her had became a mask she wore almost constantly. Hinata had been taught to be that way ever since she was born.

"I'm afraid I don't. The elders just sent me to find you and they didn't tell me anything else." The messenger was obviously in great uneasiness. No wonder, thinking about the situation.

"Then could you at least tell me your name?" Hinata demanded.  She was annoyed with his vague answer, which caused her to be a little quick-tempered, something that was out of her docile character.

 "Kakyo", he answered shortly. He was only beginning to calm down after he had heard about the approaching war so he greatly admired her self-control. Or maybe she just locked her true confusedness inside and let her outside stay cool and composure. He didn't know anything else about this mysterious incident than he had informed Hinata-sama. He was wondering what the elders had been discussing about during the time he had spent on searching her -and maybe they still did and made decisions that Hinata-sama couldn't disobey. He was glad he wasn't in her place because when he had listened to the elders' speaking it sounded serious-- very serious. 

Kakyo and Hinata kept on walking through the dark streets. It had begun to rain lightly but the wind had disappeared. The streets were almost empty and only few passer-bys could be seen running hastily away from the rain. It was strangely quiet and calm. _Calm before the storm._

After a moment they reached the Hyuga residence's main gates. Hinata looked up to the wall and saw a guard hovering over the edge. _What a strange position_, she thought, when the guard suddenly fell down. Beside her Kakyo darted to catch the falling guard, but Hinata was faster. She caught the guard just before he met the ground, softening his landing. Hinata was shocked; had the man been sleeping or had he just collapsed? She took a quick look at him and her eyes widened. The guard had blood trickling down his chin and his face was cold to touch.

Hinata looked to Kakyo who had come to kneel next to the guard who was now lying on the ground. He, too, was quite startled. Hinata quickly examined the guard to see what was wrong. Maybe the guard had just gotten ill and vomited blood. But that didn't explain his closed eyes and cold body. Then Hinata saw bloody marks in the back of the guard. He had been stabbed.

There were five clean jabs in his back and one in his shoulder. Now Hinata knew that the guard hadn't just fainted. He had been murdered, but for what reason? And who had done it? Was it just a warning? But why had the murderer killed an innocent guard who had done nothing but his work?

Hinata's and Kakyo's eyes met and Kakyo said, "We'd better get him to the elders. Maybe they can say something about this."

Hinata nodded and got up. She helped Kakyo to raise the dead guardian to his shoulders. Luckily, one other guard came to open the gates so they got inside the residence. The guardian didn't ask anything but it was clearly visible that he was shocked at the sight before him. It could have been anyone of the guards or anyone in the whole residence.

They got inside and the guard who had escorted them left to do his errand outside. Silently, Hinata gave him a word of courage, hoping that the accident wouldn't repeat itself in this evening.

 Kakyo and Hinata walked down the corridor that would take them to the elders.  Kakyo, with the body on his shoulders walked ahead and Hinata followed.

They reached the door to the conference room and opened it slowly. They were greeted silently by the gazes of the elders. Hinata closed the sliding door behind her when they stepped inside. Kakyo dropped the body carefully to the ground and brought his eyes questioningly to meet the elders. They didn't speak anything for it was clear to the elders what had happened.

During the silence in the room Hinata had time to observe everyone in the room. There was the Hokage -Tsunade, her father -Hiashi, one older man whose name Hinata didn't know and several Leaf-Jounins.

She suddenly felt faint and she had to kneel down so that she wouldn't fall. She got the feeling that she had seen this before. Everyone was deadly serious and the atmosphere was suffocating. Images were spinning in her head vividly and she fell down clutching her head. She remembered.

She heard voices in her head. They were muffled as if coming from far away. Her head ached sharply and she tried to shake it off but she found that she couldn't move. She took a deep breath and tried again but the pain in her head just increased. Only then she noticed that she couldn't see anything, only blackness circled around her. The blackness had shades of dark grey and dark blue in it.

Once again Hinata found herself wondering what was going on when she heard the voices again. She tried to focus in listening. At first the headache attacked her with full force but then it decreased and Hinata could hear the voices clearer.

"That's why the Branch Families exist." Hinata heard a voice say. "We will have to hand over Hizashi's body in place of yours." Hizashi… Hinata thought about her uncle who had passed away when she was still a very young girl.

"Hizashi has already agreed…" the same voice said. What? Was Hizashi alive? Hinata was so deep in her thoughts that she missed the next part of the conversation. Then she snapped out of the almost trance-like situation she had fallen in to hear a little more:

"Hand over Hyuga Hiashi's body." What? What is happening?

"You must have the heart to let go of even a sibling to protect that blood", the same voice kept talking, "and that's the destiny of those born as Hyuga."

Hinata's eyes shot open. She saw Hokage bent over her. Her eyes darted to meet hers and then she quickly broke the contact. Hinata saw her father standing a little farther and his expression was on of sorrow and guilt.

She stood up shakily and bowed to the Hokage. Then she walked to stand next to Kakyo and the dead guardian.

"Well, then", Hinata began. "I'd like to hear more about these… confusing events both Kakyo-san and I have gone through."

"Right, straight to the point, I see", the Hokage said. She was astonished by Hinata's acting but continued, "That's not so like you, Hinata-san."

"I- I think I have endured pretty much evading for this evening", Hinata replied with a hint of surprise towards herself for being so impolite to the Hokage. Her hands twitched and it was a sign that her old habit was creeping back to her. The desire to pull her fingers to cover her eyes was almost overpowering but she stifled the feeling and her hands remained near her sides.

"Alright, then. I- we will tell you as much as we know about the situation. I assure you, we will be totally honest and won't leave anything out" The Hokage looked at everyone in the room. "Hiashi-san, will you tell her, or will I do it?" Tsunade asked turning to Hinata's father.  The Hokage appeared to be about in her twenties but behind her mask she was well above sixty.

Hinata's father was silent for a while, pondering what to say and then answered. "I think we should wait for Neji-kun to arrive before we start telling them anything."

Hinata was surprised to hear the name of her cousin. "What does this have to do with Brother Neji?" she asked.

"Be patient, Hinata", her father said quietly. "You will learn everything once he comes."

Just then the door slid open and a man stepped in. He was well built and his long, black hair was in a ponytail. His milk-white eyes stared at everyone in the room absorbing everything but giving nothing in exchange. His eyes swept past the dead guardian without a flicker and then he finally settled his gaze upon Hinata, who tried to pull away from the glare but found that she couldn't break the contact.

Hinata blushed fiercely and stammered her greeting quietly. "Brother Neji… Y- you came…" Hinata could have kicked herself. Why did she always get so nervous around brother Neji? It was as if she was a fly in a spider's web, she couldn't do anything but watch as he devoured her. She hated herself for that.

"Obviously", Neji replied grimly. "What is it that needs my attention?" He turned his mirror-like eye to the Hokage and Hiashi, ignoring Hinata.

"Many things would require your attention but this is one of the most important ones, if not the most important." 

The Hokage continued. "Yes, this matter also needs Hinata's attention. As you have been told, there will be a war." The room fell into an uncomfortable silence and some people exchanged quick glances. "The guard who was not murdered by accident", the Hokage pointed at the forgotten body on the floor. "It was by chance, however, that he was in their sight to be used as a warning." There was no mercy in her voice.

"In who's sight?" Hinata asked. She was wondering if the discussion she had just a while ago remembered had anything to do with this.

"Fine. I see you cannot be distracted. I'll get this straight. The Cloud Village has announced that they will start a war. If we don't give Hinata-san to them", the Hokage told with a hardened voice. She was clearly serious about this.

"What?! Why would they want me? I'm not a good ninja, I don't have any influence over people-",

"And you have the Hyuga ability, Byakugan." Hinata had started to decline frantically but was cut off by the Hokage who added, "And you are the heir of the Hyuga clan."

"Oh. I guess… I see", Hinata said softly, understanding, feeling a tinge of bitterness at this true statement.

"One more thing." The Hokage was hesitant to tell Hinata those words that would crush her. "The Cloud Village wants you dead."

A choked silence filled the room.

Hinata felt herself drown. This wasn't reality.

This wasn't happening.

This couldn't be happening to her.

Neji was looking at her and for the first time in her life she didn't notice. Her widened eyes stared blankly to the space. Neji saw her lips forming words, but the movement was so small he couldn't discover what she was saying. He let his eyes sweep past her to meet the eyes of the Hokage. Her expression was so serious she couldn't be joking. Not that he thought she would.

"Now, now, Hinata-san. There's no need to worry. Of course we won't give you to them", the fifth Hokage comforted Hinata. Hinata closed her eyes to recollect herself. When she returned to the current situation she opened her eyes and let out a sigh of resignation.

"This kind of situation _has happened before, right?" Hinata was thinking about the discussion in her memory, even though she couldn't understand why she remembered it so clearly._

Hiashi almost choked on his breath. Why did she ask such a thing? Nobody had mentioned the situation very much like this since the day the truth about the day had been told to Neji. It had been the exactly same situation as this. If they made the same decision as seventeen years ago they would send Neji to his death. But now Hiashi didn't want either of them to die. He would give his own life if it would save them.

"The same exact situation." Hiashi's answer was straight and harsh, clearly showing that he had nothing else to say about it.

"I… I remember it", Hinata said softly. "I remember what happened after that discussion though I don't know why. Maybe I heard you talking and listened to you. You don't have to speak anymore, father, for it clearly pains you."

The fifth Hokage coughed. "I will not allow the same incident to happen as it did seventeen years ago. I thought it would be the best if Hinata-san went hiding somewhere far away."

"I still don't see what part I play in this", Neji said aloud. He was starting to get tired of the event. It brought back too many painful memories for him.

"Ah." The Hokage turned to Neji. "This is where you step in. You will be Hinata-san's guardian. You two will get away from the village and the fewer people know about your leaving the better. Nobody will know where you two will go, not even us. That place is for you to decide. I would rather have a war against the Cloud than give Hinata-san over. But I'm afraid that my single opinion in the case of war wouldn't matter since my responsibility is the whole village and I can't sacrifice all these people for you…"

Neji hadn't had time to decline being Hinata's escort but he surely wasn't going to hide. He took a quick glance at Hinata and saw her looking at the Hokage. They would have to talk. He couldn't refuse being her guardian so if he would have to do that he would do it his own way.

"When will we leave?" he asked.

"As quickly as possible. The Cloud Village might be on their way anytime. You should leave at night and in silence so that people wouldn't see."

"This case is finished, we will leave immediately."

"Huh? Now? Why so soon? Couldn't we at least wait 'til tomorrow?" If Hinata would have to leave, she would do it as late as she could. She wondered Neji's attitude towards this. He sounded as if he was earnest to leave! But he hated her. Why didn't he try to refuse being her guardian?

"Like Hokage-sama said, there is no time." Neji wasn't going to just sit there, letting others decide. It was time for him to make his move. If Hinata didn't get a word out of herself, he would have to do that. "We will leave tonight. And now we will have to go to discuss about our hiding place."

"Okay", Hinata said meekly. She wasn't a person to defy the commands of other people.

"Well. I bid you farewell, then." Neji turned to walk out of the door and waited for Hinata outside.

"I- I should probably go too…" Hinata cast a look at her father who she wouldn't likely see ever again. She started to walk towards the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Hinata turned around to see her father behind her. His eyes were full of sorrow. He spread his arms to hug Hinata and she accepted the gesture of comfort and hugged him tightly. She felt his silent tears and looked up to his eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through, my dearest child", he said softly. "I'm going to lose my other precious person…"

"Father, don't talk like that. You know I will return." Hinata tried to encourage her father and herself, too.

"You should leave." Hiashi turned around and hid his tears. He would have to be strong. He had to protect the last precious persons he had.

Hinata nodded silently, a little hurt for his cold shoulder. She walked through the sliding door and when she was turning to her right her arm was captured by a strong hand. Neji had pulled her out of the light to a shadowed corner. They kneeled down and looked at each other.

"We won't hide and you know that", Neji said without hesitation.

Hinata nodded, she had anticipated this. _I won't hide anymore._

"What should we do, then? Should we go and assassinate the person who wants me dead?" Hinata suggested.

To her surprise, Neji nodded. He had been thinking about that solution, too. The journey to the Cloud Village would be long and dangerous, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to be hiding in some cave eating berries for the rest of his life.

"Then. We should go packing. Let's meet at the main gates after fifteen minutes. And make sure nobody sees you." Without another word, he left.

Hinata went to gather her belongings, nothing but the most important ones: a water bottle, clothes if the weather changed and weapons; a myriad of weapons. When –not if but when- the enemies attacked, she wasn't going to surrender.


	3. a Face Unforgotten

Third chapter: A Face Unforgotten

Hinata had finished packing and was now creeping in the shadows to the main gates. She had made sure nobody had seen her and made little noise with her soft steps. Neji was already waiting for her, his back resting against the gates. He had only a small backpack and there wasn't probably anything in it but clothes for the colder weather.

Silently, Neji watched Hinata approach him. Her hood was cast down over her head, but he did not need to see her face to know that she was afraid. Her tightly clenched hands and trembling shoulders gave her away. Oddly, he did not feel disgusted at the sight of her anymore; instead of hate for her weakness, it was pity. She was forced to be the heir of the Hyuga clan, a position that has made her detest herself for her weakness and clumsiness.

Hinata lifted her head to meet his eyes. This time the mutual exchange of gazes wasn't unpleasant. In fact, their eyes mirrored each other, reflecting the vacant look in them.

There was a silence between the two. Neji kept his eyes on Hinata and Hinata found her sandals very interesting. She thought she should talk as little as possible because Neji always had an impatient and angry expression when she talked to him. Neji, on the other hand, didn't talk much and even when he talked he didn't waste his words on Hinata. She never seemed to have anything intelligent to say when she was with him. Sure, her thoughts were cunning and deep but she never got them out of her mouth around him.

"Umm… B-brother Neji?" Neji barely heard her, so quiet was her voice. He raised an eyebrow at this and didn't reply for a moment.

"Yes, Hinata-sama?" Neji was accustomed to call her 'sama', but Hinata, while she never said anything about her discomfort, stiffened at hearing it. To her, the honorific dripped with sarcasm, as if taunting her that their roles should have been reversed, and Hinata should be the one addressing him with the 'sama.'

"Uh, do you have any plans about where we are spending the night?" she asked softly. Maybe they were going to sleep under the stars. Hinata would prefer that to sleeping in an inn. She felt so free under the night sky, watching the moon and listening to nature's music.

"I think we should get farther away from the village before we start thinking about spending the night somewhere. We might not be able to sleep at night anyway, with all the possible spies from Cloud Village after us." Neji made a small gesture with his hand and they started walking, in the shadows and near the walls to get out of the Konoha Village before the moon would rise and give them away immediately.

In a while they reached the borders of the Hidden Leaf Village. The night was quiet and heavy, the grey clouds still hanging in the sky hiding the moon. They were grateful for that because they would be more difficult to see in the dark. When they entered a forest near the village Neji jumped to stand on a tree branch and looked down at Hinata so that she would get up too. She quickly followed and they started running in the forest. Being the ninjas they were, they jumped from branch to branch to get forward.

The midnight made its way over them. They were running very fast and after the time when the moon had reached its peak on the sky above them. Hinata was so exhausted she could hardly breathe. But because Neji was still running with full speed she had to keep up. Hinata ran with all she had but she still couldn't catch him. The only thing of him she saw was his back once in a while and she was getting farther and farther behind.

Hinata thought about yelling at Neji to wait for her but then, maybe there were others in the forest who could hear her. She _had _to catch up to Neji, otherwise he would look down at her even more. Hinata pulled out the last bit of her chakra and leapt towards Neji. Once she was on the same branch as him, she whispered a silent plea, "Wait…" before collapsing to the ground.

Neji heard her hushed voice and looked behind but found that he couldn't see Hinata anywhere. He came to a halt and took a closer look and noticed her, there she was, lying on the ground. Neji jumped to kneel beside her. He heard her breathes coming in short, heavy pants. Hinata's breathing slowed down but her eyes remained closed and she didn't move.

Neji didn't feel her chakra and he supposed she had used it all in that last, forceful jump. He had to remember to go easy on her since she was still only a Chuunin and he was already a Jounin. One of Leaf's best, he might add, without pride or arrogance attached to the fact.

_We can't just stay here_. He lifted Hinata on his back and jumped to the tree again. He ran some time before he saw a cave where they could sleep. He used Byakugan to check that it was a safe place; he sensed no danger. Neji carried Hinata into the cave but just when he was dropping her on the ground she opened her eyes. Her face turned immediately bright red and she started to stammer something Neji couldn't understand. He slid her off of his arms to the ground and sat down facing her.

"Umm…" Hinata muttered and crossed her legs to sit more comfortably. The moment in Neji's arms had been so warm but now her shoulders gave a slight shudder from cold. She blushed at her thoughts even more. "Did I… Did you… How did we… Was I much of a burden?" She finally got a clear sentence formed.

Neji looked at her and shook his head. "And as for your information, you collapsed a little while ago and I carried you here." Neji mentioned towards the cave with his hand. "You should have said you were tired before you fainted.  Now it will take more time for you to recover."

"I- I think I can continue right when you are ready…" Hinata said softly but she was likely to be lying. Neji raised an eyebrow at this. Hinata's weak expression gave her away.

"Since we already are in here we could get some sleep but we have to set watches. I'll take the first turn." Hinata nodded at this and was thankful for Neji for being so kind to her.

"Thank you, Brother Neji."

"It's my duty, Hinata-sama. I'm not doing this out of kindness."

Hinata just nodded again and rested down turning her face to the cave's wall, showing her back to Neji. _I have to get used to this. Why should he be kind to her? Hinata was the only reason that had dragged him to this journey. She had no right to complain._

Neji heard Hinata's clothes rustle as she turned to face him. Neji looked at her and she blushed, as usual. What did she want now? He didn't know what was annoying him -his patience had just been so short for the past few days. It couldn't be about their journey, could it? The trip had only begun this evening! And it wasn't likely that it was Hinata who got him so annoyed for he had started to live with the fact that he was supposed to be her guardian. Now and for the rest of his life -the slave of the Main Family.

"U-umm…" Hinata played with her fingers on her lap. "Shouldn't we eat something?" She wasn't hungry but food would help her -or them- to recover. "Th- there is many plants and roots in the forest

"I don't think we need to eat before tomorrow morning. Or are you hungry?" Neji replied. He wasn't going to go to dig plants and roots in the middle of the night when it was pitch-black.

"N-no, I'm not hungry… But I- I could make some medicine for later use… I think I can find some useful herbs."

"Alright, go find the herbs. I'll be here." Since when did Hinata know how to make medicines? He should ask her sometime.

Hinata was getting up to walk out of the cave when Neji gestured her to wait. "If you find any trouble, give me a signal", he said.

"A signal?"

"Yes, whistle like a bird or something. Send a chakra message, for example. You have chakra left to do that."

Hinata nodded and left the cave. When she got outside she smelled her surroundings. The scent was wonderful even though she sensed something strange in it. It was the odor of cherry blossoms. But there weren't any cherries in this forest! There were only pines and spruces and the evergreen trees that surrounded her from everywhere she looked at.

Now the dark storm clouds had vanished and the sky was clear so she could see the moon. It was full, as if an eye staring at her. She suddenly felt very insecure and uncomfortable. She pushed her hands into her pockets to warm them.

She tried to track the herbs and sensed that they weren't very far. Using her sharp nose to get near them she walked a small way through woods. Hinata came to a clearing and her lips parted in surprise.

She was surrounded by dozens of different flowers and herbs. They were glistening in the moon light, creating a blue aura around them. Hinata walked to them and kneeled down. The flowers gave a sweet aroma and somehow Hinata felt refreshed after taking a deep breath of the scent.

Some of the flowers were deep purplish but most of them were dark- or light blue. There were even few black flowers. Hinata picked up a few purple and blue ones. Taking a closer look at the black flowers she couldn't recognize them so she decided to leave them be. They could spread some illness or poison so she didn't get too close. The young woman picked up a few of green herbs' leaves, for they would prevent inflammations and scars.

Hinata started to make her return when she heard a rustling sound behind her. Her head immediately shot up and her body tensed. Should she call for Neji? The rustling sound came again, now accompanied with a few leaves floating down. Hinata looked at the tees and took a step backwards, just in time to dodge a flying kunai. The kunai hit a tree behind her. She couldn't see anyone but it was there, waiting for the next chance to assault. Hinata whistled clearly but quietly. The one in the tree would hear it but think it was just a bird farther away but Neji heard the small sound.

Neji was there, next to Hinata in a few seconds. He looked at her questioningly and Hinata pointed at the tree. _So the problem is there_. Neji looked as if he was about to ask something but decided it was better not to talk too much. But Hinata, however, understood him and pointed out one finger, as if saying 'one opponent'. Neji nodded but looked a bit surprised. When had such a connection created between them?

The one in the tree could clearly see them. Neji and Hinata stood side by side, neither breathing nor moving. Neji moved to press his back against Hinata's so there wouldn't be any openings. Their eyes met, both were concentrated and merciless. Once again, they guessed each other's thoughts. If the one in the tree would give any sign of his position, he would be dead.

The strange thing was that Neji or Hinata couldn't sense the person's chakra. Either he was not a human or he was as good as a ninja that he could hide it. The first possibility proved immediately wrong. If the one in the tree wasn't human, how could he have thrown the kunai? So the assaulter was human, but what were his reasons to attack Hinata?

"Whoever you are, come down. Now", Hinata heard herself saying. The moon shone brightly and lit her face giving her a solemn expression. It was one of the moments she looked like the respected heiress of the Hyuga clan she should have been. Shocked, she turned her head to look at Neji. Even he was astounded by the change in her voice -it was clear and steady. Hinata didn't stutter or whisper like she usually did.

_Maybe that wasn't such a good idea_, Hinata thought. The person in the tree almost snorted but held back at the last moment.

"And why should I?" the one in the tree was actually quite amused. _What petty beings, being frightened so easily at the sight of one kunai._

But the person couldn't have been more wrong; Neji and Hinata weren't the least bit scared. They were only determined to find out who the person in the tree was and why he had attacked.

Neji fingered his kunai in his weapon pouch. Should they attack or wait? The first kunai that had been thrown from the tree was obviously just a test. The one in the tree could have killed Hinata right away if he had wanted to. If he was good enough to hide his chakra from both of them, he could kill them before they even knew he was behind them.

What _was that man? Hiding his chakra and even talking –well, whispering- to them. Neji formed the ordinary hand seal quickly and used Byakugan to see the person._

Nothing.

"That's futile. You won't be able to find out my position unless I tell you", the one in the tree said. His voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It echoed it the trees and rocks eerily.

Just then Hinata took in the same aroma she had smelled when she walked out of the cave -cherry blossoms. Was that odor connected to the person in the tree somehow?

_Wait a minute._

That black hair. Those white eyes. That tall form.

It couldn't be--!

The person in the tree let out a loud laughter. It was rough and it sounded like the person's throat was parched. Neji and Hinata tensed but felt weird at the same time. What was he laughing? It wasn't a mocking laughter or an insane one. It was the laughter of pure relief and happiness.

They looked around but didn't let their defense down. What was with the atmosphere? A second ago it had been so thick and dark it could've been touched. Now it was easy to breathe and they didn't feel any danger.

"Who is it? If you come down now we won't kill you", Neji commanded. He was beginning to have his doubts again. Was this some kind of jutsu cast on them?

"Ah. But what gives you the impression that I won't kill you?" the person whispered questioningly. "And besides, you couldn't kill me even if I had my eyes shut and hands tied. At least you couldn't, Hinata. Of you, Neji, I'm not sure."

It was getting more suspicious again. How did he know their names? And why was he joking around at a time like this?

"Alright. We won't harm you and you won't harm us. Is it a deal?" _This is annoying_. Being mocked -that's how he felt- by a person who didn't even name himself and who had just attacked them out of nowhere. It wasn't likely he was a Cloud Country spy -if he was, he would have kidnapped Hinata the first moment he saw her. She hardly had any chakra left so she couldn't have resisted.

"How kind of you. But fine, it's a deal." Even if his reply was a whisper the sarcasm couldn't be missed. He shifted to jump down from the tree but apparently the branch he was standing on was too thin and it snapped. There was a loud crash and he fell down in front of them. It took a while for the dust to move away so Neji and Hinata couldn't see the figure very clearly.

"Ouch. That hurt", the person said. Hinata's and Neji's eyes widened, it appeared that he was a she. The figure stood up and wiped the dust off of her clothes. She walked to them slowly, as if meeting with long lost friends for the first time in many years.

Ironic, but true.

In front of them stood a pink-haired woman, wearing a short purplish dress and tight dark green pants that went just below her knees. Her hair was short and unevenly cut and she had cuts and bruises all over her body. Her legs were delicate yet muscular and long. There was a wide grin on her face.

The woman looked familiar, too familiar. But somehow it felt like something they'd known had changed vastly. She was familiar but also very strange.

"You don't remember me? I could be disappointed… But that doesn't matter", she said coming even closer. Neji stared at her as if trying to remember her.

"I night as well tell you." She was slightly shorter than Hinata, who was a few inches shorter than Neji. "The name's Haruno Sakura."

"…"

"…"

Neji and Hinata just stared at her. "Oh, what's the problem?! You guys know me, don't you?" Despite the situation, Sakura seemed exuberant this late at night. "Although, I do admit that I've changed… Quite a bit, actually…"

"Ha- Haruno-san…" Hinata finally stuttered. Why are you here? Why did you attack me? Where have you been for the past few years? What have you been doing? Many questions were spinning in her mind but she finally asked, "Are- Are you okay?"

"Me? Okay? I'm always okay!" Sakura replied. "And I'm never okay… But drop the formalities. It annoys me to be called Haruno-san, like I'm some old geezer! But that doesn't matter. Neji, didn't you recognize me?" Sakura turned to Neji who stood next to Hinata.

"I was just… surprised, that is. I never thought I'd meet you here." The shock from seeing her was beginning to resign and he felt a little calmer.

"Why, yes, I was stunned at first, too. Then you used Byakugan and I felt like I knew you. But what amazes me is that you two are here, in this forest, together!"

"Well… More about that later. I want to know why we weren't able to see or sense your chakra when you were right in front of us." Was Sakura that good nowadays? It was impossible. Judging from what he knew about her she was even a worse ninja than Hinata. Sure, she was intelligent but she was never that strong of a fighter.

Hinata had been watching this in silence and now opened her mouth. "U-umm… I don't mean to interrupt but I- I think we should go into the cave; we could talk more freely and comfortably…"

"Yes. What a good idea." Sakura nodded. "Where is this cave you're talking about? You two are going to sleep in there, I assume?"

"It's not far. Come, we'll show you the way", Hinata answered. She looked at Neji who nodded and they began to walk towards the cave. But Sakura didn't move.

"Come on, what is it?" Hinata looked at Sakura. Sakura's eyes were full of happiness and sorrow at the same time.

Suddenly her expression changed rapidly. Her eyes gave them a doubtful look. "You don't think I'm lying? Not that I am, but still… It _is_ pretty rare to meet friends in a place and at a time like this."

"What reasons do we have to not believe you? If you are a spy from somewhere it's two against one. I don't think Hinata and I could be overpowered." Neji glanced behind his shoulder at the pink haired kunoichi.

Sakura gave them a crooked smile. "Like I said, you couldn't overpower me so easily."

"Is that so? Well then, do you prefer killing us to coming with us as a friend?"

Sakura held her arms before her defensively. "H- Hold on a minute! I'm not saying I'm going to _kill you! I'm just hinting that you shouldn't be so trusting!"_

It was Neji's turn give her a slight smirk. "Who said we'd trust you? We're just letting you to come with us. Let's go. I want to sleep at least a bit during this night."

Once again they turned to walk towards the cave, Sakura following a little behind. The hard words had hit Sakura but she was pleased to see that her old intelligent and sharp friend -if you could call him a friend- hadn't turned to a softie.

They got to the cave and walked inside. There Hinata looked at Sakura and Neji who were both deep in their thoughts. They sat down facing each other. Neji paid attention to his surroundings but Sakura was still in her dreamland. Hinata coughed a little to get her attention and Sakura snapped back to the present world.

"We came here to talk", Hinata said, quietly but firmly.

"Uhum… Right. We're here to talk." Sakura was clearly distracted by something. Neji didn't miss this. What was she thinking? She looked as if she was worrying about something.

_That's not my concern. Her businesses are her own_.

"So. What do you want to know?" Sakura looked at the both of them and heaved a sigh.

"First, about your chakra, remember? We couldn't sense you back there", Neji reminded her.

"Well, that is… Err… I- I just… I'm so good of a ninja now! You don't have to look so suspicious. I know I was a total weakling back at the ninja academy but I've gotten stronger!" Sakura said in a rush.

"Is that all? You've gotten better?" Neji raised an eyebrow at this.

"Yes. That's all."

"For the second question, what are you doing here?" Hinata asked. She didn't like the doubting look on Neji face so she decided to change the subject.

"I'm fulfilling my responsibilities. Any more information about the mission is classified, I'm sorry." Sakura seemed to be extremely calm.

_Too calm_, Neji thought.

"Classified by whom?" Neji asked. "Or are you forbidden to tell even that?"

"By my… master. Yes, I suppose I could call him my master."

"Fine, I- I think that people don't go around talking about their missions…" Hinata said. "I'd like to know why you attacked me. I didn't do anything to harm you." Hinata twitched her fingers. Not that she had been scared -well, a little- she was just curious.

"I didn't attack you! I was just bored and there was this annoying fly and I tried to kill it with that kunai but just then you got in the way and I was so shocked of seeing someone in this forest that it just kind of… Umm… Slipped out of my hand. He he he… No big deal! You didn't get hurt!" Sakura wasn't too comfortable about the subject; she couldn't believe she had almost hurt her by being so careless.

"Now, where have you been for the past years?" Neji was observing Sakura's expressions with great amusement -how she could change so rapidly, from cheery to nervous all the time.

"I-" She fell silent. Her head dropped and her eyes almost closed. Neji and Hinata exchanged glances but when Hinata blushed they quickly broke off. There was a long silence between them.

"I was getting my revenge", Sakura finally whispered. She didn't want to remember the times when she had been alone, full of anger and fury, searching for the revenge. She didn't even know if she had got it. _It was all because of that bastard._

…That Uchiha bastard.

"Did you get your revenge?" Sakura's voice had been so sorrowful it hurt Hinata to not be able to help her. Maybe she didn't even want to be comforted.

"I… I don't know. I really don't know. Maybe I did, maybe not, I'm not sure. But what matters most, I've been happy more than I was sad", Sakura gave her confusing answer.

Both Neji and Hinata nodded their approval. They shouldn't dig into businesses that weren't theirs. They respected her decision not to tell them more. She could tell them what she wanted and leave off everything she didn't want them to know, as long as she didn't lie. And Sakura had always been a bad liar; everybody could always tell when she was lying.

"One more question", Neji continued after a pause. "What have you been doing during the time we didn't see you? Nobody in the village knew anything about you." Sakura flinched at the word 'village'. Neji furrowed his brow at this. _What was that?_

"Uh oh… How should I say this? Nobody really knew anything about me? Or maybe they didn't want to tell you", Sakura replied. Neji gave her a skeptical look.

Hinata's eyes widened a bit. "Now that you mention it, I did feel like they wanted to avoid the whole subject. What is it that made you so full of secrets?"

"I don't know! I honestly don't know!" Sakura said. However, her green eyes were slightly darker than usual.

"That's weird…" Hinata muttered. She was starting to get sleepy and her brain wasn't in its brightest moment at the time. She couldn't think clearly.

Sakura didn't keep her tiredness hidden -she yawned widely and loudly so that nobody would miss it. "I'm tired! Can I sleep with you guys tonight? I'm really in no mood to be looking for a place to sleep right now…"

"Sure, if that's what you want…" Neji looked at Hinata to see if she was tired too. Hinata's eyelids were fluttering closed but she refused to give in to sleep.

"Go to sleep, Hinata-sama, I'll take the first watch", Neji whispered harshly into her ear.

Hinata cast a look at him. "Alright, but please remember to wake me when a few hours have passed, you have to sleep too, Brother Neji."

Neji looked at Hinata and Sakura who were preparing to get some sleep. It was easy to tell that both of them were very tired. But what had Sakura been doing in that tree? And why didn't she tell them the whole truth? The mysterious woman muttered a good night for them before drifting off to sleep.

The night was cold and Neji was getting sleepy too. Three hours had already passed but he hadn't woken Hinata up. She was lying on her stomach, and her body was spread relaxed on the cold ground. She shivered slightly from the coldness. Neji surprised himself thinking that he could get behind her and wrap his arms around her; that would keep them from getting cold in the night breeze.

He shook his head -what was he thinking?! _I have to wake her up… Otherwise it'll be me who slows us down tomorrow, not Hinata-sama._

Neji stood up and walked quietly to Hinata. He tapped her shoulder softly.

"I don't think so…" He heard a silent voice behind him. Then he felt something sting against his neck and he collapsed.

His body didn't move and he couldn't see.

He heard a slight noise. They were very soft steps coming from behind him. Apparently Hinata was still sleeping because he heard her steady breathing. His mind failed him, he was feeling faint.

_No…_ Neji struggled against unconsciousness. _I can't-- I have to-- protect-- Hina--_

And then darkness surrounded him.

Hinata woke up to hear the birds singing and sat up. She looked around and saw Neji sleeping beside her. Her eyes searched Sakura but she was nowhere to be found. _That's strange. Maybe she's up already?_

Then she turned to Neji who was very close to her. _Why he didn't wake me up? Well, maybe Sakura took the turn._

Hinata found her hand brushing several strands of hair away from Neji's forehead. Neji's eyes shot open and he cast a murderous glance at Hinata who snatched her hand away immediately. "I- I'm sorry! I don't know what came on to me!" A deep crimson rose to her face.

Neji turned his head away and murmured, "…Whatever." He looked around to see that Sakura was gone. "Where's Sakura?"

"I don't know, I think she's already up and outside." Hinata fingered the hem of her shirt. "Umm… Brother Neji? Why didn't you wake me up last night? Did Sakura take my turn?"

"What? No, she didn't…" Neji looked around absently. Then he remembered something. All absence was cleared away from him. "Oh no… Oh no! Where is she?! We have to find her quickly! She might be in danger!"

"Why? What happened?" Hinata asked.

"In the night, someone attacked me… Well, it wasn't much of a fight actually, the person just hit me with a needle to my neck. It didn't hurt but after that I couldn't move or see anything. That person might have captured her!" It wasn't normal for Neji to panic about things. That startled Hinata and made her worry.

"We better look for her outside before we decide anything drastic. Are you okay? I mean, that attack…" Hinata responded softly.

"I'm alright. Don't worry about me." He stood up and walked out of the cave leaving Hinata behind.

"Hinata-sama, I think you should come here", Neji called from outside after a moment. Hinata walked out to Neji and saw what he was looking at. There was a message written on a piece of paper. Hinata took a closer look and read it.

_I'm sorry for all the fuss I caused. Take care of Neji, Hinata. And the other way around. I didn't intend to hurt him but that may have happened.  _

_Bye!_

_Sakura_

"I can't believe it… What's this supposed to mean?" Hinata was surprised. "Why did she leave?" Neji just stared at the letter.

"So… It was her who attacked me in the night, that's for sure. Of the rest, I'm not so certain. But I think she didn't mean to be with us in the first place so she decided to leave us in secret, otherwise we would've asked her about too many things."

"Well, if that is what she wanted…" Hinata took a last look at the paper, "Take care, Sakura."

They turned to gather their provisions and continue their long journey to the Cloud Village.


	4. Feel My Blade

Fourth chapter: Feel My Blade

Neji sighed. They had been traveling through the forest for a few hours now. They weren't proceeding very quickly so that they wouldn't waste too much chakra. Now he took care that Hinata could keep up with the pace and looked over his shoulder once in a while to see her still jumping behind him.

Hinata was getting thirsty and hungry because they had forgotten their food yesterday when Sakura had showed up. Hinata still carried the plants she had dug up though. She was planning to make some ointments and other medicines when they'd hold a pause.

They didn't talk much, only muttered something once in a while. Both Hinata and Neji had many things to think about, most of all about Sakura and her sudden disappearing. They had been seriously surprised when they had found Sakura's message.

A small river below them caught Neji's eyes. He raised his hand gesturing Hinata to stop. "We can keep a pause here if you want, Hinata-sama." Actually, he'd like a short break himself; after all he had had only two or three hours of sleep last night.

"I'd like that very much, brother Neji." She wasn't very exhausted but she wanted to pause.

They jumped off of the tree branch where they had been standing and landed softly on the ground. Hinata walked beside the stream and splashed the cool water on her face. It made her feel refreshed and more spirited. Neji came to stand next to her and he too washed his face. They filled their water flacons, drank a little and sat down, leaning against a tree.

"Whew." Hinata's shoulder brushed gently against Neji's. She thought she could make the medicines during the pause and removed the fabric she had packed them in. _Good, they've dried. Now it'll be easier to make the ointments._

Neji cast a glance at her work -when had she learned how to make medicines? _Déjà vu.__ I've thought about this before. He might as well ask her. "When did you learn how to make medicines, Hinata-sama?"_

Hinata's cheeks grew a shade of pink and she turned to face him. "Umm, this has jus been a hobby of mine for a rather long time. When I was still with Shino-kun and Kiba-kun I could help them with my medicines, especially Kiba-kun.", Hinata said shyly. "I'm not so good at it but I like working with plants so it's fun."

"Oh." Neji fell into deep thought.

Hinata returned to her work. She crushed the dry herbs and separated them into detached little pouches. She always carried a few extra pouches with her in case something would happen. She added a little water in two pouches containing purplish flowers and green leaves.

When Hinata was done she rested her back against the tree. She felt Neji's eyes on her and tried to keep from blushing. Hinata didn't know why she still blushed every time Neji talked to her or looked at her. She just felt like she'd like to run away when he addressed her. Hinata felt her stomach burning -was it hunger or something else? It was kind of funny feeling, like there was some strange hot liquid inside her.

Neji had been watching when Hinata had made the ointments but now he turned his eyes away. Maybe he should get them something to eat since Hinata had used all the herbs to make those medicines. Neji stood up silently and looked down at Hinata. She raised her face to meet his eyes and was captured by those emotionless eyes once again.

Ice cold eyes were softened by the mirroring of the gentler white eyes.

"I'm going to get us something to eat, Hinata-sama", Neji said, never letting go of her eyes. Hinata just stared at him weakly, unable to form any intelligent thoughts. She finally broke her eyes away and nodded staring at the ground. Her shoulders shuddered a little.

Neji smirked. _What a coward. But he couldn't help feeling a little twinge in his stomach when he saw her looking at the ground, helpless and nervous. It was actually ironic that the one who was assigned to be Hinata's guardian was the person she was afraid of._

Neji walked away planning to catch a rabbit or something they could eat. Maybe rabbit wasn't very suited for them but what else could he do. Hinata was the one of them who knew plants and herbs and he couldn't let her make their food every time. Of course, he had some knowledge in plants but he was nowhere near as good as Hinata.

Hinata, in time, was recovering from the mental shock Neji had given her. Why did he do it? It was like he tried to eat her alive! Hinata's heart thumped twice as rapidly as usual and for a moment it was all she could hear. Then her pulse slowed down and she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, relaxing.

Hinata had time to examine her surroundings. The stream was on her right side and the tree she was leaning against just beside it. The ground she was sitting on was covered in soft green grass. There weren't any flowers or other plants on it, just bare grass. The trees were huge and evergreen. It was a peaceful forest but Hinata noticed that she couldn't hear the birds' singing anymore. She had seen small animals like foxes and squirrels on their way but no birds.

"Strange", Hinata muttered out loud. "What could make them escape this part of the forest?" She sat on the ground wondering the mystery for quite a while, listening to the flowing of the river. It soothed her mind and body and she forgot every dark thought swirling in her mind.

Hinata closed her eyes and leaned more comfortably against the tree trunk. She crossed her legs and set her arms on the ground relaxed. Suddenly an image flashed in front of her closed eyelids. It was a spiral, circling endlessly around her, coming closer and closer.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji called her. Hinata snapped out of her dream and stared at Neji. Her eyes were wide and she was breathing rapidly. "Did you fall asleep?"

"I- I think so." Hinata tried to recall her dream. There had been a spiral but nothing else. What did it mean?

"You should be on your guard, Hinata-sama. You can never know where the enemies will appear", Neji told her. Why was she so frightened? Had he scared her? It was probably just a dream. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"I don't know." Hinata shivered a little. "There was a- a spiral circling around me and it came closer and closer and then you woke me up", she continued and looked around her in confusion. "Did I talk something in my sleep?"

"No, your body shook but that's all." Actually, there had been more to it. Hinata's lips had moved as if she was talking but he hadn't figured out what it was. He decided to drop the whole subject.

Only now Hinata noticed that Neji had caught them a rabbit to eat. Rather brutal. Hinata wrinkled her nose a little, but smiled at the same time. _We'll become wild animals before we reach the Lightning Country_. "How are we going to cook that?" She pointed at the rabbit. It wasn't probably the wisest thing to do to put on a fire but they weren't going to eat it raw, were they?

"I don't think we should light a fire because it'd be as good as to invite all the spies in this forest to eat with us, so maybe we should eat it raw." Neji's answer awoke Hinata's fears. She gulped and muttered something unintelligible. Well, if Neji could eat it raw, then she could. Hinata took a look at the rabbit, it looked very dead and stiff, poor rabbit. Hinata almost pitied it but that was nature's way.

"That was merely a joke." It was amusing how easily she believed everything he told her.

Hinata's eyes darted at him, full of disbelief. "Are you mocking me?" She tried to stay cool and collected. The atmosphere between them was getting strangely comfortable, there was no tension or stress.

"Not quite, Hinata-sama. I just said a joke, that's all." Neji attempted to hide a small smile creeping up his lips. Hinata's disbelieving expression made it all the more difficult to prevent it and finally he let a hint of smile raise the corner of his mouth. Hinata's eyes widened even more at this and she too felt like smiling. Her eyes filled with warmth and she looked at Neji's eyes without blushing or feeling fear.

The moment stayed in their memories long after they left the river and their resting place, a place they never returned to when they were alive.

"Then, how will we cook the rabbit?"

The light moment was gone and the cold mask returned to Neji's face. "I could infuse it with my chakra and make it edible that way or we could put on a fire and pray that nobody sees it." Hinata nodded and pondered the two options.

Neji wouldn't squander much chakra by cooking the rabbit but if somebody saw their fire they would really have to waste their chakra in either running away from the attackers or fighting them.

"Alright." A thoughtful pause. "Do you want to help?"

"If- If I can be of any use I'd be glad to", Hinata said softly. She didn't want Neji to look down at her and she wanted to do everything to prove that she had changed after he had beat her in the Chuunin exams many years ago -even cook a rabbit if it helped.

"Alright", Neji repeated. "Take the rabbit's paws in your hands and let out a little of your chakra. It doesn't need much to be edible." Hinata did as she was told and placed her hands in the soft paws of the dead rabbit. Hinata was startled to notice that Neji had gotten behind her and placed his hands over hers, his body pressed lightly against her back.

Hinata turned to look at Neji and at the sudden movement her cheek brushed against his lips. She blushed deep scarlet and stammered, "Wh- What are you doing, Brother Neji?"

Neji just looked at her annoyed. "It has to be done like this, or haven't you ever cooked anything with chakra before?" Obviously she hadn't. "The chakra has to be channeled into the rabbit through one or two holes, no more. So we have to keep our hands in the same places. Do you understand? When I let my chakra out, you gather it and send it to the rabbit."

"Yes", Hinata muttered, holding her breath. Neji treated her like a child. She still wondered why he had to be behind her but let the subject be. It wasn't uncomfortable like this, not at all. She, in her betraying mind, enjoyed the situation quite a lot. When she realized her thoughts she blushed again and tried to shake it off, only to hit Neji in the chin with the back of her head.

"I- I'm terribly sorry!"

Neji muttered something under his breath but didn't reply. He only nodded towards the rabbit to get her attention to it. "Oh, right. I'm sorry." Again bidding her apologize and turned back to their soon-to-be meal. It felt like her life was nothing but apologizing. Next she'd have to be sorry about being alive.

Hinata concentrated her chakra on her hands and let it flow out slowly. She felt Neji's chakra swirling around her hands, tickling. She gathered it to her palms and sent it to the rabbit. In only a few seconds she could feel the rabbit changing, not cooking but becoming more lithesome. Hinata couldn't find any other word than 'strange' to describe the experience.

"It should be good enough now." Neji took his hands away from hers. He stood up and got next to Hinata who was still kneeling down. They ate their food in silence, leaving some for their long journey.

The meal wasn't one of the best Hinata or Neji had eaten in their lives but as it was proved, anything tasted good in a forest. And they had been without food last night which made it all the more enjoyable. Neji finished his eating and saw that Hinata too had finished. They stood up silently and made their way to one of the huge trees.

Hinata sighed. Neji jumped on the tree branch once again and prepared to leave. Hinata didn't get up yet but remained on the ground, looking at their resting place. She let out another small sigh and jumped to stand next to Neji. She looked at him and saw him looking forward with stern and sharp eyes.

"What do you sense, Brother Neji?"

Neji looked at her and said grimly, "I feel like there's something bad coming towards us. I don't know what it is, but its intentions definitely aren't good." Hinata concentrated and she, too, sensed something ominous in a small distance. The feeling was like the evil was covered in mist and they couldn't see through it.

"Whatever it is, we better get going." Leaving no room for arguments he started running forward. Hinata followed him, thinking about the approaching difficulties they'd have to endure. They had been talking a little that morning and decided that they should first get to the Lightning Country, then seek for the Hidden Cloud Village. This done, they'd find out who had given the orders to abduct Hinata and assassinate him or her. It didn't sound like an easy task to do but they'd never fulfill it if they were afraid of it. They had to become familiar with their enemy -an important advice from their days in the academy.

They ran and ran, seeing only trees and grass, once in a while some small animal walking beneath them. They proceeded quickly and nothing unordinary happened. They muttered something to each other occasionally, like mentioning if they felt any bad omens or weird animals -even animals could be enemies.

They had a short break again but didn't get off the tree. They leaned against the trunk and drank some water. Neji grumbled quietly and looked at his feet. They were sore and tender from all the running and jumping. He hadn't had enough time to recover last night and he cursed his stupidity for that. Now how could they get going?

Hinata became concerned when she saw Neji's feet. She should offer her help even though he would reject it. "Brother Neji?"

He looked at her, annoyed at himself for showing the weak moment to her. "What?"

"I- I could probably help you, if you'd accept it", Hinata said quietly but still sounding determined. Neji gave her his approval for it.

"Do you mean your medicine? I don't think they're enough to heal this." His cold voice couldn't reach her feelings enough to hurt her. She had unknowingly built a wall around herself, like the mask she wore on her face. Don't show emotions and don't get hurt by emotions –a statement that pretty much worked with her.

"We should at least try. It has worked before."

"Alright, let's try", he said impatiently. He doubted the medicine's effectiveness but let it be.

 "I have to examine your wounds to use the right medicine, Brother Neji. Could you please remove your shoes?" Neji took off his sandals and grimaced at the pain. His feet were bleeding and sore. _How did I become so pampered? Hinata came still a little closer and reached out her hands. _

Her fingers touched Neji's foot, cooling the burning pain. The fingers ran over his foot and gently lifted it into her lap. There she examined it, poking and caressing occasionally here and there. Neji looked in amaze how Hinata worked, without a line of worry on her face, gently nursing him to health again.

She pulled out a small pouch containing some strange remedy and spread it on his foot. Neji winced at the sudden touch of the sticky liquid but remained silent. The pain was quickly away as the medicine began to do its work. The cuts and bruises healed instantly, leaving only dry blood behind. His foot felt lighter and he moved his toes a little.

Hinata got a sudden urge to tickle his foot but left it alone. She didn't want to annoy him anymore. Then she took his other foot into her lap repeated the operation. When he was healed Hinata got up to move on a different tree branch to let him be alone. Not that it made a gap enough for loneliness between them. They were bound to each other too tightly.

A quiet "Don't go away" halted her. He looked away from her so Hinata couldn't read his expression.

What a strange moment. Hinata froze completely at the words she had never thought she'd hear from anybody, at least from the man who was supposed to hate her! Her eyes widened slightly as she turned to look at Neji. "What?" It wasn't a question asked because she hadn't heard him. They both knew it. Hinata thought of herself as an annoyance. 

Neji was silent for a while. "If I said I wanted you to stay, I probably meant it. So don't think of yourself as a nuisance." He still looked away from her and didn't show his face. Hinata felt a slight smile creep up the corner of  of ofher lips as she sat down, next to him.

Hinata let out a sigh and leaned against Neji's shoulder and the tree trunk. Neji relaxed beside her and rested his head to the trunk. The moment was comfortable, with all the worries and stress put behind.

A few long minutes passed by. Neji felt Hinata's shoulder brushing his and leaned against it. Hinata let out a soft breath but didn't move away. Instead, she slowly turned her head to see him. Neji's eyes were closed and he looked peaceful, as if sleeping. Hinata inhaled lightly and held the breath inside. She slowly leaned her head on his shoulder and let the breath through her almost closed lips.

Neji opened his eyes when Hinata laid her head on his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at this and smiled amusedly. The rare smile made his face gentler and friendlier. It brightened his eyes, leaving only the deepest depths dark and unmoved. That part of him was never touched by any emotion, it remained cold and hard even in the happiest times.

Neji saw Hinata's hand resting next to her thigh. He moved his own hand above hers and placed it gently over it. Neji's hand was scarred and calloused from the numerous fights and missions over the years, but in contrast, Hinata's hand was smooth and delicate. In her mind it showed the vast difference between them. Neji always had something important to fight for when she had nothing. The long, slender fingers entwined with hers. He held her hand tightly, curling it into a loose fist.

Then he felt Hinata tremble beside him and looked at her. Her eyes were tightly shut and she clutched his fingers hard. A line of pain crossed her smooth features. Turning to her wholly, he put his other hand on her shoulder and encircled her into a clumsy hug.

Hinata's eyes widened rapidly but then she forced herself to relax and leaned against him. She didn't know what was wrong with her but suddenly she felt like crying. She tried to fight the tears back and squeezed her eyes shut and the pain in her chest burst and she swallowed hard.

Neji didn't notice any of this, just Hinata shivering under his touch. Did he make her feel difficult? He looked down seeing her resting her forehead against his shoulder. Her arm came loosely around his waist and the other was still clutching Neji's hand.

The feeling of extreme safety came over Hinata and she sighed. Oh, how she wished she could always be like that, not caring about the Lightning Country or any other things besides Neji and her-- Where did that come from? She was suddenly afraid of herself and her feelings. What was the emotion swirling in her heart?

Neji saw a lone bird flying over them, freely, to the cerulean sky. Free bird, but lonely. Was that the cost of freedom? To be alone? He shook his head to get those thought away from his head. Now he didn't want to think about anything else besides Hinata and him-- What was that thought? Completely unlike him to think like that of anyone.

They both sighed once more. The moment was passing away and they knew they had to get going. Hinata raised her head to face Neji. Their eyes locked but they didn't say anything. Hinata lifted her hand to his forehead and removed his forehead protector. There was a bandage under it covering the curse seal. Her fingers trailed over his brow and she lifted her face and brought her lips on his forehead. She kissed the seal lightly and then stood up.

It was Neji's turn to be shocked. Why had she done that? Thinking that, he stood up and looked down at Hinata. "We should be going. We've already wasted enough time already."

"The time didn't go to waste, Brother Neji."

Neji remained silent, choosing to let go of the subject.

They started jumping again, in the endless forest. Where ever they looked they saw only trees. The mystery of the birds' disappearance still bothered Hinata but if Neji didn't worry then she wouldn't worry. The evening was settling over them, the light vanishing slowly.

In the twilight they came to a halt. Suddenly they both sensed a chakra, a strong chakra in front of them. There was a figure standing on a tree branch before them. They didn't have time to exchange thoughts with each other before the figure leapt towards them.

They couldn't see the figures face but it was clearly a man, an assassin from the Lightning Country perhaps. He jumped right in front of them and smirked. "Caught you in a bad moment, huh?" he sneered. Neji and Hinata looked at him with disbelief. A rather mocking intruder. 

Hinata took the Jyuken fighting stance and at the same moment Neji performed Byakugan. The realization hit him at the moment he set his eyes on the enemy. His chakra was amazing. If normal chakra looked icy blue with Byakugan, his chakra was violet. He had never seen anybody with that kind of chakra before! It was close to the feeling he had had when he was fighting with Naruto. The chakra overwhelmed him and swirled around him suffocating.

The enemy started his attack and he jumped at Hinata. She evaded his kick easily but the enemy was faster and sent fire along a string towards Hinata. Hinata who had avoided the kick and turned her back to the enemy wasn't quick enough to react.

"Hinata!" Neji yelled. "Look out!" But it was too late for Hinata to jump away from the attack. It was Neji's turn to help her. With a god-like speed he jumped at Hinata and threw her out of the way. Hinata flew through the air and landed on a tree branch safely. Neji wasn't as lucky.

He was caught into the fire and string and it bind him to a tree trunk. His back was crushed against the trunk and the breath in his lungs was off. He coughed and blood burst out of his mouth. He had had time to use some chakra to protect himself from the fire but it had still burnt him a little.

The enemy jumped in front of him and made a quick hand seal and started to perform another jutsu. He drew a deep breath but before he had time to unleash it on Neji, Hinata jumped at him, kicking him on the side.

He lost his balance and almost tripped. Recovering from the attack he jumped to another tree branch. Neji had enough time to rip himself away from the string and the trunk. He fell on his knees and coughed up blood. The red liquid dripped down his chin to his chest and onto the branch. Hinata immediately put her hands on his bent back and muttered something.

Her hands and the air near them began to glow bright blue. It was like energy from the air was gathering to her hands. She closed her eyes and gave a hard push with her hands to his back. Neji's eyes widened as he felt his inner organs healing and beginning to work again. Then Hinata took her hands away and stepped back.

The enemy had been watching this with amusement. _So this is what she's capable of doing_. He had expected to meet a weak girl with no confidence and guards surrounding her. But there was a spirited young woman with only one companion. Her skill at healing was good but there was space to improve.

But, this was no time to be criticizing the enemy. He was sorry for himself that he hadn't noticed her in the first place when she had kicked him. It had taken him away the chance to finish off the other guy who looked dangerously strong. Well, he just had to take care of that.

Neji was now standing, feeling new energy and strength building up inside him. Hinata looked exhausted from what she had done but was still standing. It took a lot of her chakra to heal others' bodies without any medicine but she had trained enough to become rather skilled with it. That way she was able to help other in the times of danger. She didn't have to be physically strong to be of use.

The enemy looked at them even more amused. What was there between those two? An unbreakable bond, he realized, and that they weren't even aware of it. He was beginning to have doubts of his easy victory -those two could almost read each others' thoughts. But he would win, despite whether or not the victory was easily gained.

He leapt at them again, this time using an even more improved fire technique. It used a lot of chakra, but he was special -his chakra had never been used to its limit. The amount of his chakra was so huge he had never found anyone to surpass him. So those little bastards weren't going to win him.

Neji realized the enemy's intentions and grabbed Hinata by the waist and pulled her to stand in front of him. "Quickly! Release as much chakra as you can throughout your body!" he whispered hoarsely into her ear.

"What- Why?" Hinata's head jerked back just as the fiery dragon flew past them, straight to the point where Hinata had been standing just a second ago.

"Trust me. I'll take care of this", Neji said in a low voice. He intended to do the Hakke Shou Kaiten* together with Hinata. He had tested the technique before and it had worked although it had been with a more advanced ninja than Hinata. But he had to try. 

"You're within the field of my Hakke." Neji used the exactly same words he had said to Naruto during their fight in the Chuunin exams. Taking the stance he released his chakra to swirl around them like a protective barrier.

A nervous sensation crept up Hinata's spine but she trusted Neji completely. She closed her eyes and focused her thoughts to her body. She released her chakra, sending it to Neji. Neji gathered it and entwined it with his own. Holding Hinata, he jumped high in the air and began spinning with infernal force.

The enemy's chakra was thrust back at him, crushing him. He flew against a tree trunk blood bursting from his mouth. Hinata's sharp ears caught a snapping sound over the roaring of their chakra. The fiery dragon slashed at them but it had no power in front of Neji's strength.

They stopped spinning and landed back on the tree branch. Neji let go his grasp on Hinata and stepped back. They looked around and saw the enemy who had fallen against a trunk his chin leaning against his chest. His arms and legs were spread lifelessly around him. Blood dripped from his mouth. "He must be dead. We got a straight hit on him, he couldn't survive it."

Hinata caught a glimpse of the enemy's hand -it was curled into a tight fist. "If he was dead, his hand would be relaxed."

Neji looked at the enemy and he too saw the fist. "Should I kill him, Hinata-sama?" he asked waiting for a command. Hinata pondered it for a while and then said: "I don't think you should. He won't be getting up at least in few moments and by that time we'll be farther away."

Even though they had used almost all of their chakra, they should be able to run away from the enemy so that he wouldn't catch them. They turned to the direction where they had been going before the interruption. Suddenly a rustling sound stopped them.

"I don't think so!" the enemy whispered his eyes blazing horribly. When Hinata turned to look at the enemy, she felt a sharp pain in her face. Two kunais had pierced her face, making two wounds run across her eyes diagonally. She was so shocked she didn't realize the pain. Only after a moment it struck her with full force and she screamed, screamed from the top of her lungs. Tears of pain would have rolled down her face if the sources of them were left.

Neji looked at her horrified. He had seen terrible injuries in his life but never had he seen somebody's eyes cut open. Blood was streaming from her eyes, making her face red. Hinata's screams had silenced but her mouth was still open and she had fallen in her knees, her fingers dug on the tree tearing bark off.

Neji saw that the enemy had slumped back against the tree but now there was a wicked grin on his face. This time, Neji threw a kunai at him to make sure that the bastard died. The kunai struck into his throat and with the force from Neji's arm it went straight to the trunk behind the man sealing him to it.

After those seconds he rushed to Hinata. He gripped her shoulder and turned her face to his. Hinata's face was torn and ugly, her skull was almost visible. Neji said nothing as he gripped her shoulders hard to take Hinata's attention away from her eyes.

"I- I can't see" Hinata whispered. Her voice was shocked and filled with pain but she held her head up. "It hurts- It hurts so much." Never in her pampered life had she been in a pain like this. "Help me, Brother Neji. Help me. Help me." Hinata cried without tears, her face twisted from the agony she endured.

Neji couldn't do anything but stare at her. How hadn't she fainted already? It would have been easier for her to lose consciousness but then she could die. He tried to soothe her by just taking an encouraging grip of her shoulders. But Hinata continued to cry for him. She gripped his arms so hard it hurt but Neji didn't take his arms away.

"Help me…"

Despite Neji's efforts to calm her down Hinata was in a hysterical state and no rational thought could enter her mind. The pain was so horrible that it kept her from losing her mind even though she didn't know if she wanted to go insane instead of the torturing she went through. All her energy was concentrated on whispering those pleading words for Neji.

Hinata's voice became stronger with the increasing pain. Neji couldn't get a word that could help her out of his mouth but he _had_ to silence her. She must have alerted every single person in the reach of ten miles to them!

 "Help me!"

Hinata's mouth was suddenly closed by Neji's as he crushed his lips against hers to silence her. He couldn't take his hands to her mouth because she had them in her horrifyingly strong grasp. Hinata was so shocked she couldn't do anything.

The metallic taste of blood filled his senses. He shut his eyes but didn't move away, instead, he pushed harder at Hinata. Finally, Hinata let go of his arms and Neji moved away. Then the pain in Hinata's head assaulted her again, twice as bad. She leaned over her knees and vomited strongly. Neji saw the blood from her eyes mixing with the blood from her insides and he began to feel sick.

Neji then remembered something he had been taught many years ago. He moved to put his hands on either side of Hinata's face and murmured something. The bleeding stopped slowly and the pain resided. Her sight couldn't be returned by his skills but he could make her feel easier.

"We have to get you help, Hinata-sama."

Hinata nodded weakly, trying to face Neji. The attack had affected her ears too, because she couldn't hear Neji clearly. "But how- I can't get going like this", Hinata whispered hoarsely. She couldn't see, she couldn't stand and she couldn't hear. How were they supposed to find someone able to help her?

"I'll carry you, so don't worry", Neji said quietly. Not only had he never been in such a state and had no idea where the closest village was, he was almost out of chakra and had to carry on his back someone who couldn't see. Not the luckiest day in his life.

 Neji lifted Hinata on his back and noticed how light she was. He couldn't feel her on his back despite her arms that clung to his shoulders. Her chin rested on his shoulder, her cheek pressed against his. The blood on her stained them both in a curtain of scarlet.

Neji ran and ran until he was so exhausted he almost collapsed. "I- I have to stop, Hinata-sama", Neji whispered to her. Hinata nodded and slid off of his back to the ground. The pain in her head had resided and she could stand now. Neji was so tired he couldn't walk properly, he just wobbled around weakly.

Neji stood beside Hinata. "Are you feeling better?" Hinata nodded again and shakily tried to find her way to a tree trunk. She held her arms stretched out and tried to find something solid she could lean against. But, being in the state she was, she tripped on a root that was above the ground.

Neji caught her before she touched the ground. He pulled her to him and held her tightly by arm. "Don't jump off like that." He walked her to sit beside a huge tree and he too sat down. He took his backpack off of his back and pulled out some food for them to eat. He gave the meat to Hinata's hand. "It's food. It's raw but you should eat it."

Hinata was getting tired of being blind and helpless and ate the food without much appetite. She turned her face to where she assumed that Neji's face was. "I want to- to thank you. For what you've done", she mumbled quietly. Neji didn't say anything –at least not so loud that Hinata could hear him.

"I don't know- I don't know what got into me", Hinata continued. Her head spun and she fought not to lose consciousness. The task became difficult and she leaned against the trunk. A sarcastic thought came to her mind -she would have closed her eyes if she still had them. Is this what it was going to be like from now on? Helpless, depending on others all the time, not being able to be alone?

Neji grunted and said nothing. He didn't think they could get her help any time soon so he had to prepare to carry her for a long time. Not that she weighed anything, she was like a feather. He decided not to say anything to Hinata because he had been enough of a softie for one evening.

Now that Neji thought of it, he realized that the moon and the stars had already risen. The pitch-black sky and the stars gave no warmth, only cold, white light. The sky was beautiful, however, and Neji realized that he hoped that Hinata could see it and share it with him.

"We have a hard day tomorrow, Hinata-sama. We should rest now", Neji said quietly breaking the silence between them. Hinata didn't reply and Neji had to check her pulse to make sure that she was still alive. The beat was slow and even but faint. Neji closed his eyes and leaned against Hinata's shoulder. Hinata rested her cheek on top of his head and fell asleep.

Under the frozen stars, they slept.

Hinata heard a faint sound of yelling. She tried to open her eyes but then remembered that she was blind. She tugged at Neji's arm and he woke up. "I heard screaming, Brother Neji." She turned her head from side to side to hear more. There it was again.

Neji heard it too, a sound of shouting. Then he woke up completely to see that they were surrounded by trees, huge trees. And the more frightening thing was that there was a village built on the trees. The most frightening thing, however, was the sight before them.

It looked like the whole village had got out from their houses and gathered around a huge tree. In that tree, there were two people standing on a tree branch. The other one was leaning against a staff and his back was covered in furs.

The other one, a young man, was struggling against ropes that bounded him to a stilt. There were smaller branches scattered around his feet. The man let out another furious yell. "Let go of me, you scumbag!"

Hinata raised her head to the direction of the sound. The voice sounded a little familiar but she couldn't place it. But Neji saw the man and he couldn't believe his eyes. Another old 'friend' had popped out of nowhere to their way.

Right there, struggling, fighting and yelling, was Uzumaki Naruto who was about to be burned alive.

***

*Jyuken – Gentle Fist style

*Hakke Shou Kaiten – Heavenly Spin


	5. the Village Lost in Time

Fifth chapter: The Village Lost in Time

Neji was stunned. He had never dreamed that he would meet Uzumaki Naruto in a place like this. In the middle of -well, Neji didn't know exactly where they were now. But there was a whole village around them! How come he hadn't sensed them last night? Even if he had been tired as hell he should have felt that they were in a village. This whole journey to the Cloud Country was getting more and more mysterious.

Neji took Hinata's hand and they got up. As quietly as they could they gathered some chakra to their feet and jumped to a tree limb. From there Neji had more time to observe the villagers before them.

Hinata tugged at Neji's sleeve. "Who is there, Brother Neji?" She tried to concentrate on the sound she heard but it was difficult with the burning pain in her head. Neji had lessened some of her pain with that jutsu he had done last night, but it was little help to a person whose eyes were slashed.

"We're in a village, Hinata-sama", Neji said grimly. He heard Hinata gasp a little and stiffen. He was a bit nervous too, which surprised him.

Hinata once again squeezed Neji's arm. "Why didn't I- you- uh, we- uh, sense them last night?"

That was the thing he had been wondering too. He didn't have the answer so he decided to remain silent. When Hinata didn't receive the answer she was waiting for she knew that he didn't know. Again, the invisible connection between them did its work.

Neji surveyed the village. The houses were small and made of wood. The whole village didn't have more than a hundred of dwellers. There were people of all ages, from the wise and weary old to the freely running and screaming children. It was apparently a very peaceful village but then again, why had they captured Naruto? Maybe they were some fanatics for rules and Naruto being the way he was could have easily broken tens of their rules in a minute.

"Uh oh, don't bring that fire too close to me!" they heard Naruto yell with horrification. His struggles were becoming more furious as Neji watched him. The old man had lighted the fire under Naruto's feet. "Hot! Hot! Hot! It BURNS! Stop the fire, idiot! What're you doing, gonna burn me alive?!" he roared before once more trying unsuccessfully free himself from the ties.

Neji sighed and brought his hand to his eyes. Hadn't Naruto changed at all? Next to him, Hinata let go of his arm and whispered with a stunned voice, "Is- Is that Naruto-kun?"

Neji sighed in exasperation once more, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. "Yes, it's Naruto." Hinata stiffened and inhaled sharply.

"Naruto-kun…" She fell silent for a while. "I can't believe it." The smoke from the pyre reached her nose and she coughed a little. "What are they doing?" Neji was surprised at this, hadn't she heard Naruto's yells?

"They- They are going to burn him." Hinata's hands clenched into fists and she bit her lip.

"Shouldn't we do anything?" Hinata finally asked turning to Neji. Her face was twisted with pain, for Naruto and herself. Neji could tell that she felt faint because of the terrible headache.

"Like what?" Hinata let out a grunt of frustration at Neji's reply and raised her hand to her lips and bit her finger. She had the habit of doing so when she was nervous. It didn't really help much but the slight pain gave her something else to think about.

"We must help him!" She coughed again. The situation was horrible, simply horrible. How could Neji be so cold? Didn't he care about Naruto's life? _Don't play stupid. Hinata gritted her teeth and then she growled silently._

Neji looked at Hinata and he frowned slightly. Was he supposed to do something about this? He was getting angry at her. Why did he have to do what she wanted?

"Save him? How, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked dryly.

"This is no time to be angry at me, Brother Neji! Please, we must save him!" Hinata was frustrated. Neji's frown deepened and he turned to Hinata.

"Do you understand this? If we are going to save him, it'll be me who does it." Hinata opened her mouth to say something but decided to against it. She let out a sigh of annoyance before opening her mouth again, her voice calm and hardened.

"Yes, I know. It would be a nuisance to you, wouldn't it?" her voice dropped into a dull tone. "But you must save him. And that's a order." Her face was commanding.

Neji was astounded at the change of her attitude. Where was the shy and weak-willed woman she usually was? But it was nice to see her acting a little bit stronger. Women with lack of self-confidence were annoying, anyway. _Humph, I'm starting to sound like Shikamaru_.

"Fine. But what will you do?"

"I- I'll come with you. But not on your back." Hinata refused to be carried around even if she was blind and she didn't want to be in the way.

"Then how are you going to move?" Hinata fell silent at this and Neji was impatient enough to drop the subject. "Do as you want to. Just don't disturb me", he said coldly and snorted.

Hinata gritted her teeth and whispered barely concealed her anger. "I won't, Brother Neji."

Neji jumped out of the tree and quickly ran to the huge tree where the villagers were. They didn't pay any attention to him. He walked to the closest man who was standing a little out of the biggest crowd.

"Excuse me", Neji started politely, "What's going on?" The old man he had asked had white long hair and a beard that reached his stomach. _This place is really uneducated._ The thought vaguely rang in his mind at the sight of the old man's filthy clothes and hair.

The old man gave him a weird look. "What do you mean, 'what's going on'? We've been talking about this for a week now! You can't have missed it." Neji had the urge to return the look, but he maintained his façade.

On the outside, he looked slightly surprised. "I'm afraid I have. Could you please tell me what's going on?"

"You don't look like you're from around here, do you?" The man continued to avoid answering his question.

"Yes, I'm from a village nearby", Neji lied without blinking an eye. The old man however, turned away from him and muttered something like "Yeah, right" before walking away. Neji didn't like his behavior and walked to him again and pulled at the old man's loose sleeve.

"Don't ignore me like that!"

"I do if I want to." Neji was growing frustrated at the man's stubbornness. He had to do something and quickly or Naruto would be dead. He looked up at Naruto and noted that the fire had spread rapidly. His mind was quickly trying to find a solution and he began to run to the tree.

If he would have looked back he would've seen the old man whispering to another man and pointing at Neji.

Hinata was helpless. What could she do now that Neji was gone? Nothing. That was pretty much it. She could send her chakra to find Neji and that's what she did. When she sensed him she also felt that he was with someone really powerful. Maybe it was Naruto, she didn't know. Maybe he had saved him and didn't bother to return. She waited in silence for a few moments that felt like hours.

Suddenly, the female ninja heard yelling from Neji's direction. Her body tensed as she strained her ears on the voice.

"What are you doing here?!" the person's voice was that of utter disbelief. There was no reply, at least not so loud that she could hear. She drew a deep breath before jumping out of the tree and starting to run to the tree where Neji was.

Neji was standing next to the huge, thick evergreen tree where Naruto was still struggling. Knowing nothing better to do, he jumped to the tree close to Naruto. Naruto's struggles and yells were becoming more powerless as the smoke continued suffocating him. The very old man who had lit the fire was standing beside him, leaning to his staff.

Neji walked behind the old man and asked, "What's going on?"

The man turned more quickly than eye could see to Neji and took him off guard by hitting him in the knee with the staff. Neji jumped away from him and somersaulting in the air landed safely on the thick branch.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the old man demanded. _Whoa, what a rude village this is_. Neji decided to remain silent and ignored the questions. He had no desire to tell them about his intentions.

He held his hands out to show that was unarmed and harmless. Apparently, the man took the note and rested the staff back to the tree limb he was standing on. He still eyed him suspiciously, though.

Neji walked slowly closer to him. "What's going on?" The old man grunted in reply and pointed towards Naruto with his wooden staff. Neji felt some strange power spreading from the thorny and mossy stick.

"We're burning him, can't you tell?"

"Why?" Neji was growing impatient.

"He insulted the peace of our village and mocked god!" the old man growled, loud enough to attract Naruto's attention. The young man tied to the stilt raised his head and looked at the old man. Fire watered his eyes and he had to cough to get the smoke out of his lungs. Despite his pitiful position he still gave the old man a furious glance, much like the look of the young Uzumaki Naruto who had vowed to become the Hokage one day.

"You won't get out of this alive", Naruto growled. Then he saw the figure standing next to the old man. His eyes trailed over the figure's body and finally met his eyes. Those hate filled, white orbs that made him shudder in spite of the fire around him. His mouth opened and for a moment he just stared at the Hyuga. Naruto's eyes widened as the man did nothing to save him.

"What are you doing here?!" Naruto finally blurted. Neji gave him a quick warning look to silence him.

"What do you mean? Am I not free to be where I wish to?"

Naruto just gaped at him before once again struggling futilely. He coughed loudly and tried to reach for a kunai from his holster.

"That's no use." The old man's eyes glinted madly. "Do you think we'd let you have weapons after insulting our village?"

_Damm_.___ What am I going to do? It wasn't probably the wisest thing to do to reveal that they knew each other. The old man was already suspicious enough. The fire around Naruto was spreading rapidly and it would soon reach Naruto. The pyre was huge, he had noted. Maybe it was to scare the victims with a slow death._

The old man, most likely the major of the village, walked to stand in front of Naruto. He laughed at him and said in a low voice, "This is what you deserve, you filth!" Then he spat at his face and turned around.

Naruto's eyes blazed and chakra began to emit from him. Nine Tails wanted out. His pupils shrank and the birthmarks on his face deepened. Neji looked at him astonished and stepped back from him. The huge chakra was making him nervous. If Naruto started playing with the Demon Fox's chakra Neji wished that he didn't have to be around.

But at occasions like this it would make things more difficult. What if Nine Tails freed himself and decided to destroy the village? That would happen with high possibility if Naruto lost control to the fox. Neji just had to hope that Naruto would be strong enough to not lose command over him even after being almost burned.

Naruto continued transforming. His form tensed and his pupils were only thin, pitch black slits in the middle of scarlet irises. The canine teeth in his mouth sharpened and became fangs. Neji was stunned at this. The only time he had seen Naruto this strong was when he fought him at the Chuunin Exam many years ago. The chakra was enormous! Neji reached for a kunai and wrapped his fingers around the hilt to be ready to defend his life if he had to.

Then he remembered Hinata. He cursed himself for forgetting about her and leaving her like this. He was her protector, after all. He had no intentions to get her killed and so he turned to search for her with his eyes. When he looked at the tree where she should have been standing he saw nothing. Neji closed his eyes to send his chakra to look for her.

Even though he was concentrated on finding Hinata he felt somebody moving nearby. The old man walked to stand in front of Naruto again, this time taking his staff in both of his hands taking a defending stance. He pointed at Naruto with the head of his staff and Neji noticed that there was a glowing crystal ball in the end. There was a dragon's fist holding the crystal in its place*. Before Naruto could react, the old man hit Naruto in the stomach with the staff.

"Don't try any tricks!" he growled. Then he hit him once more, this time on the side. Naruto let out a grunt of pain but didn't say anything. He coughed and blood trickled from his lips. The staff had some hidden powers in it for the strike hadn't been hard enough to make him bleed from the insides. The old man smirked at him and snorted.

Then, out of nothing, came something what looked like a white storm and swiped the old man off the tree branch. There, in front of Naruto was a slightly panting Hinata. She held a kunai in her hand. Once again Naruto's mouth dropped open as he stared at Hinata. He quickly regained control of himself and Nine Tails's huge chakra receded. He returned to his normal appearance. With the threat gone, Neji came to stand before the pyre.

Neji quickly grabbed the kunai he had been holding and jumped over the fire to release Naruto from the bindings. This done, he jumped away. Naruto grunted and slumped back against the stilt.

"What're you doing? Get out of there!" Neji yelled at him. Naruto swiped the blood away from his lips and tried to stand up. Pain jolted through him and he held his stomach before coughing up a lot of blood.

"I can't get up." Neji quickly went back into the flames when he heard Naruto's grunt to retrieve him. He jerked Naruto away from the stilt and leapt out of the pyre with Naruto's arm around his shoulder.

Neji set Naruto down against the tree trunk and stepped away. He looked at Neji and then his eyes slid to Hinata. _That girl surely has grown_, was Naruto's only thought as he looked at her. His eyes traveled from her toes to her face and there he stopped.

"What's happened to your eyes, Hinata?" Hinata's head snapped up at the sound of her name.

"W- What? I wasn't listening", she stammered blushing. Neji frowned. Didn't those two have any idea that they were in a village full of people ready to kill them?

"We really don't have time for this", he said sharply, "Finish your talking if we get out of this alive." Naruto cast a glance around them and raised his eyebrows.

"Crap. I almost forgot about that." He scratched his blonde head. "But I really don't think I'm able to run very fast. That old geezer did something funny when he hit me." Neji had to prevent himself from putting a hand to his eyes and sighing in exasperation.

"Hinata-sama, I think this is your job." Neji walked to Hinata and pulled her to Naruto. "His insides have been injured. Can you heal him?" Once Hinata kneeled beside Naruto she groped her way to find his legs and then she placed her hands on his knees.

"I might be able to", she muttered, "Where does it hurt the most?" She ran her hands lightly from his knees to his thighs and then on his stomach.

She was still in shock for what she had done. She had run past the yelling villagers, jumped to the tree and then out of nowhere a thought had entered her mind. There had been something terribly powerful and evil near her and she had been irresistibly drawn to it. She had tried to stop herself but it had been futile. She had decided to get rid of the nagging feeling and decided to shove it off. Knowing nothing better to do, she had quickly landed a kick to the center of the powerful. The evil presence was gone as she had kicked the human off of the tree.

Now she was here, trying to heal Naruto and still alive. _What a strange journey this was turning out to be_.

"It's not any separate point, it hurts from everywhere", Naruto quickly answered. Hinata muttered something in return and started the healing process. Not after long, Naruto gave a small sigh of relief and Hinata drew her hands away. "Thanks, Hinata!" Naruto happily grinned at her. Hinata, who didn't see his expression but could feel his eyes on her blushed and stammered a few words in return quietly. Now that Naruto was better they could try to get out if the village.

"Naruto, do you happen to know how we can get out of this village?" Neji asked.

"Let me think." Naruto thought about it for a moment but then answered, "Nah, I don't think so."

Neji raised an eyebrow at this. "Then how did you get here?"

"I dunno, I just woke up in a jail in this place after arguing a little with those guys. I wasn't serious in the fight and they captured me." Neji sighed as he was obviously getting nowhere with the questioning. How could that guy talk so much without saying anything worth listening?!

They were interrupted by furious yells from the villagers. Neji glanced down and saw the mass of people climbing up the tree trunk.

"Uh oh." Naruto gulped. "This is definitely not good," he pointed out the obvious. He looked at the two Hyugas standing beside him and saw Neji looking at Hinata worriedly. The expression was gone in a second but it had still been there. Naruto cast Neji a strange glance and stood up.

"What's the plan B?" Naruto asked.

"Plan B?" Neji repeated blinking.

"Yeah, how are we going to escape this crazy village?"

"There's no plan B."

"Then why the hell did you save me?! Now I'm going to die anyway!" the spiky-haired man cried out. Neji was slowly beginning to get irritated so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Several villagers had already reached the tree limb they were standing on. Naruto eyed them fearfully, "We- uh, we don't need a plan B! Let's just run!" Saying so, he leapt away to the next tree and halted there. "What are you doing?!" he yelled glancing at them. "Get here!"

Then he remembered Hinata's bad situation and wondered if they'd need his help. Apparently they didn't or at least they didn't say so. Watching the villagers he saw that there were more of them, more than the tiny size of the village could ever hold.

Hinata was having tough time with her pride. She didn't want to be carried around like a baby but if Neji didn't take her on his back she'd slow them down or worse, get them killed. Neji silently looked at Hinata's inner struggle. He didn't mind carrying her but it seemed to be uncomfortable for Hinata. Not that he cared, anyway.

"What are you waiting for?!" Hinata was snapped out of her thoughts by Naruto's furious shout and hastily tried to think for a solution. She was beginning to panic.

_Why does she have to be so stubborn at a moment like this?_

Then, without warning, Hinata was encircled by strong arms and lifted from her feet on Neji's back. "Took you too much time to think", Neji muttered. Hinata didn't protest. Now that she was on his back she made herself more comfortable and rested her arms around Neji's shoulders. '_I might as well get used to this._

Neji swiftly jumped to the tree where Naruto was standing. "What's the matter?" Neji asked when he saw Naruto's alarmed face. Naruto only pointed towards the villagers. Neji turned around and he, too, was stunned. It seemed like there were thousands of people instead of the less than hundred they had last seen! When Neji tried to focus on looking only at one of them he found it impossible. It seemed like the villagers changed their form with a dizzying speed. Neji shook his head and ripped his eyes away from them.

"Now we really better run", Naruto growled. Turning around, he came to a quick halt. The way ahead of them was also surrounded by hundreds, thousands of people. "Ack. No good, definitely not good."

"I know that already!" Neji snapped. He was really losing his patience with this man! Gritting his teeth he said, "We don't have any other options left but to run. Run as fast as you can." Then, with an incredible speed, he jumped to another tree and then another, soon disappearing from Naruto's sight.

Naruto followed as fast as he could. He held a kunai in his hand to keep the unwanted attackers away. He soon reached Neji and ran beside him. Neji was moving swiftly but still taking care of Hinata so that she would fall.

"If you want to, Neji, I can carry Hinata." Naruto thought his offering would help Neji.

Neji shook his head, "I can take care of this."

"…Whatever."

He looked back and saw that the villagers were following them right behind their backs. It wouldn't take long for them to reach the tree, Naruto realized. "We have to go faster!"

Neji didn't reply but he looked back and saw what Naruto meant. Increasing his speed he tightened his grip on Hinata. "Take out a kunai, Hinata-sama! You have to shield yourself." Hinata reached for a kunai and took it out. _How am I going to protect myself? For the sake of all good and evil, I'm blind!_

After a short while of running they came to a clearing. Naruto noticed that they were standing beside a deep cliff. There was a wavering suspension bridge that led to the other side. Naruto pointed at the bridge.

"If we run to the other side it might slow those guys down. They won't make it in one piece, there're too much of them." Neji nodded and ran to the bridge.

"This looks very weak. Only one can cross it at time. Hinata-sama, you go first." Neji dropped Hinata down and guided her to the bridge. "Just keep your hands on the banisters." Hinata took a slow step forward and then another.

Proceeding slowly, she hadn't moved far from the beginning when she heard Naruto's yell. "They're getting too close! We have to get to the other side!"

"We can't! The bridge will break and then we'll all die!" was Neji's angry reply

"Where do you prefer dying? Being tortured by those maniacs or falling into water?" Naruto wanted to protest but after looking at Neji's grim expression he decided to remain in his place.

Hinata tried to go on as fast as she could but now she was shaking so hard her legs didn't move. Inch by inch, she slowly neared the other side. Suddenly, she heard Naruto crying out again. "Now we _have to_ get there! We can't hold these down for long!"

Neji didn't answer. Hinata felt the bridge falter and tried to stay on her feet. Then Neji grabbed her waist and took her into his arms running to the other side.

Naruto, Neji and Hinata were very close to the other side when the villagers got to the bridge too. The fragile bridge couldn't take the weight and broke.

Hinata felt herself fall and before she had time to scream, her lungs were emptied by the fall. She was unable to breathe for a few seconds. She had automatically pulled Neji closer to her when they fell and now she clutched at him tighter than ever. Neji curled over her protectively and they formed a tight ball falling to an ice-cold river below them. Naruto yelped and tried to save himself by grasping the banisters but the weak material of them gave away and his hand slipped through them.

A tall man was walking through a small forest. He seemed to be walking absent-mindedly and not paying attention to his surroundings. However, the man was clearly aware of the happenings around him. He sensed every move and presence, not that there were many -the forest was small enough for him to see from the other side to the other. And currently he was the only human being in the place.

The vigorous man breathed out a small puff of air and kicked a stone beside his foot. The sandal-clad feet continued onward, drawing out clouds of dust from the dry ground. He soon reached his destination and ceased walking. He pulled out a swiftly drawn map from his pocket and looked at it. There was also a hurried description of the place he was supposed to be in.

The man looked around him and nodded mentally. Yep, the place matched the description. There was a small arched bridge over a little gurgling river. Aspens decorated the side of the forest he had just stepped out from. Wind blew slightly through the aspen trees and made the leaves murmur in reply. High, green, velvety grass caressed his feet as he made his way to the bridge. The view could have had the character for 'cliché' printed on it. Only beautifully singing birds and colorful flowers were missing.

The man leaned his elbows against a banister of the bridge as he glanced at the sky to define the time. The early morning was passing and it would soon be the time when normal people woke up and began their daily tasks. But no, not him. _He had to wake up in the middle of the night to fulfill some idiotic mission he was given. And that wasn't even the thing that made him grumpy._

He was supposed to complete the mission with _someone_.

The young man didn't know who it was nor did he even care about it. He just disliked company. After being alone so many years he was now going to suffer someone around him for God knows how long. And the person was late. They were supposed to meet in this exact place at this exact time but there was no one around. 

"How unprofessional", he muttered under his breath. Over the years he had gotten the habit of talking to himself which annoyed him more than anyone else. But at important times he could keep his mouth shut if needed –he wasn't the type of a guy to give himself away on mission.

He was seriously growing irritated. Why can't people be more precise about their schedule? Thrusting his hands to his pockets he started to walk across the bridge slowly. He turned around when he met the end of the small bridge and repeated the process.

A woman was quickly walking on the streets of a small peaceful village. Her hand ran through her hair as she muttered, "I'm late, I'm late, and I'm late, late with a capital L." Wrapped up in her thoughts she bumped into someone. She almost fell to her bottom when she hit the object before her. As the young ninja quickly regained her balance, she looked at the person she had collided with.

It was a silver-haired tall man who was currently looking down at her with a slight worry in his eyes. "Whoa, watch out!" the kunoichi said hastily taking a step backwards and pulling her hands in front of her, defending.

"Ohohohoho!" the man let out a loud laughter. The woman dropped her hands to her sides but still remained a bit tensed. _Obviously a drunken fool_. But at this time of the day? Which reminded her: she was already late!

She looked hastily at the man as if trying to define if he could be left alone without taking him to the police. The man did nothing but stood before her, bluntly. He hadn't said a word after his insane laughter.

"Uhh, are you okay?" the crimson-dressed shinobi asked and tilted her head to one side. The man didn't make a response so the woman just let it go. But being the woman she was, she made a mental note: the man was insanely handsome. His strange looks, companied with a long hair made him unnaturally attractive. He would have been very charming if he hadn't been drunk.

The slender girl apologized quickly and walked past him. She was definitely deadly late. '_What a nice first impression. __Well, what's done is done. Can't let drunks surprise me too often. She was now running through the streets and after a little while she reached the end of the village._

She broke to a sprint as soon as she stepped through the huge gates of the village entrance. She would've preferred jumping on tree branches but the distance to the meeting place wasn't so much that she'd bother. She hastily pulled out a map where the location was supposed to be marked. She looked at the map to make sure she was heading to the right direction. Yep, she was close, not even half a mile anymore.

The man at the bridge had stopped walking and now leaned against the banister of the bridge, hands in his pockets. His stomach gave a silent grumble, informing him that he hadn't eaten anything good for the last few days. He was thankful that the mission was to be completed in a village -there he could get something edible to eat. If he ever got to fulfill the mission, that is.

Then his ears picked up a faint sound of feet stepping against the ground. The noise grew steadily louder and he faced the direction of the sound. After a moment, he could see a woman running towards him. The woman was fast and had quickly covered the distance between them. When she was about ten meters away from him she stopped to catch her breath. She lifted her head to get a better view of the man in front of her.

The man was athletic, that could be seen even through his loose clothing. The woman's eyes drifted to his face to meet with pitch-black eyes that absorbed everything but gave nothing in return. Locks of raven black hair hung over his face hiding every expression. His face was pale and his dark eyebrows only emphasized the almost milk-white skin.

At the same time the man had been observing the woman. A faint feeling of familiarity touched him. Her eyes -currently staring at him wide open- were jade green and her hair was pink.

_Oh no_. A thought occurred to him: There was only one woman in the whole world with pink hair. Only one woman with shining jade eyes that could light the place in an unnatural way. He drew in a sharp breath of air and his eyes grew wide at the horrification.

At the exact moment the woman had finished observing the man in front of her. Only one man could be so good-looking and be still alive. Any normal man would be dead from all the women clinging to his legs. But not this one.

"YOU!"

They both cried out, pointing at each other. It didn't take long for them to regain from the shock. Both eyed each other with a horrified and somewhat disgusted look in their eyes. The woman heaved a shaky breath and walked towards the man.

"You, Uchiha, what're you doing here?" She couldn't believe her bad luck. The only possibility why he was here was that he was the person who was supposed to fulfill the mission with her. She eyed him from toe to head with a repulsing look in her eyes. The man addressed just stood in front of her, hands in his pockets, his body appearing to be too lazy to move.

"You know the answer very well, don't you, Haruno?" the man replied sneering. Could the situation get more annoying? The woman before him gritted her teeth visibly and clenched her fists into tight balls. Her body trembled from anger. Then she sighed deeply and closed her eyes, as if giving up.

_Fine, fine, sweep all thoughts about strangling him beside_. She smiled pleasantly at him -a smile that never reached her eyes.

He snorted at this. "Don't waste your so called politeness on me, Haruno." He rose up from his position of leaning against the banister. He was a few inches taller than Sakura.

"You don't have to spell my name all the time!" the woman snapped. Her hair was short but her temper was even shorter. She looked up at him and thought about their last meeting. That one hadn't been in a pleasant atmosphere. After the years, she still had mental scars of the times when they had been together. Even if it had been for a short while, the time had aroused her hatred and bitterness towards him. Those feelings had been under a stone for a while but now they raged inside her again.

Sasuke observed the fiery woman before him and saw many expressions crossing her face. Disgust, hatred, bitterness, betrayal and even sorrow for a swift moment. _Quite a show_. _Maybe instead of dying in boredom I could survive this._

"We have to work as fellow Ninjas so let's stop dwelling in the past, Haruno", Sasuke said coldly. Sakura snapped away from her thoughts and nodded hastily in agreement.

"What did I say about using my name?" she muttered under her breath. She brushed a lock of pink hair behind her ear and then clasped her hands together behind her back. _Don't strangle him, don't strangle him, she kept telling to herself. Her hands clenched into fists to keep them in their place._

"So. The assignment was to kill the man who sells drugs in the village. How annoying."

"Why does it take _two ninjas to kill one man?" Sakura wondered. She didn't like this, not the least bit. They were supposed to blend in the people, be as unnoticeable as they could. It would be hard with one having a pink hair and the other one being the mister handsome. She was surprised to find that there weren't any screaming girls surrounding the place already, that's how he affected women and girls around him. He was a woman magnet, if not from the inside then on the outside._

She, too, would probably been a gurgling pool of goo if she didn't know him. Well, not that she knew him very well but the bit she did know was enough for her. One couldn't know a Missing Nin entirely, she thought, rolling her eyes. Yeah, sure. _She_ had to fight to survive in the hard times when the guy in front of her only had to snap his fingers and have all the women in the world to be his eternal slaves.

"Yep, fatally boring." Sakura played with the hem of her crimson dress as wind brushed her hair. "But maybe he's someone with a hundred guards around him all the time. That'd take more time and effort to make it look like an accident."

"You know fairly well that you could assassinate a hundred of men in a minute." Sasuke tapped his foot on the ground, irritated. The mission indeed seemed to have something fishy in it. Why would their master order both of them to fulfill it? Or maybe their master -being a wicked person as he was- was only mocking the both of them by putting them together in this.

"We could as well make our plans", Sasuke said.

Sakura once again nodded. "And let's find a more shadowed place than this. The sun is really pissing me off right now."

They walked to the forest where Sasuke had been and found a big oak tree and came to stand beneath it. Sakura looked at Sasuke questioningly and pointed up. "Will we go up or stay here?"

Sasuke only shrugged his shoulders and given the sign to decide Sakura jumped up to a tree branch. Sasuke followed almost instantly. Sakura seated herself comfortably against the trunk and straightened her skirt. _Damn, girly manners are coming over me again. Have to quit doing that._

Sasuke sat in front of her, legs hanging over the both sides of the branch. He pulled out another piece of paper from his pocket and read it silently.

"He says nothing more: There is a man in the town who sells drugs. He must be killed", he stated. Sakura thought about this for a while and then it was her turn to shrug her shoulders.

"Well then, let's go and find the man", she said matter-of-factly. "After that, let's kill him. And I want to avoid unnecessary bloodshed", she warned.

Sasuke didn't reply, only swung his legs slightly. The bark of the branch scratched his legs but he didn't seem to pay attention to it. He tugged the piece of paper into his pocket and then looked at Sakura. She was in her thoughts, biting her fingers.

"What a childish manner", Sasuke commented. Sakura's only reply was a muffled "Mmmphumph", and she did nothing to cease her biting.

"We're really getting nowhere if you just sit all day eating your nails." Sasuke was incensed. Sakura came back to the presence world.

"Oh yeah. Forgot about you already", she grumbled. "I guess we have to make our plans of action." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this.

"Since when did you start making plans?"

 "Since a time when I forgot to read the information of a mission and it almost got me killed." She grinned stupidly at the memory. _Whoa, watch your talk, young lady_, she reminded herself. _You're around HIM. He's really not the best person to be letting your guard down._ Who knows what he'd do? Murder her before she even knew he had moved?

"Well, as for plans, with this bit of information, we can't do much more but find the guy", Sasuke said.

"Yep. That's right. So let's head to the village." Sakura stood up and jumped to the tree next to this one and then to another. She knew that Sasuke would follow. _Like a dog in leash_.

They came to the borders of the village and then halted. Sakura looked at the huge gates. "Are we going to wear disguises?"

She didn't receive an answer in a while. "I guess we could try to play a couple in love." Sakura was taken completely off-guard by this.

"Huh? What? Are you out of your mind?" She gave him a puzzled look.

"No. I just think we would be more unnoticeable that way."

"Ahaha. Very funny. What would it look like? Think for a moment", Sakura said sharply. "Two persons looking at each other disgusted and trying to make the least amount of connection as possible. And that would be _us_ in love."

"Hey. I didn't say we should be in love. Only that we should act like ones", Sasuke defended his idea. It might actually work. Two Missing Nins didn't blend in the people too easily but if they wore normal clothes and held each other's hands people would believe them.

"Fine. But we have to find better clothes. Will we rob someone or will we buy normal clothing for ourselves?" Sakura finally agreed to his idea.

"You don't have a kimono with you for situations like this?" Sasuke looked slightly surprised.

"Well, no. I'm sorry if I don't have the time to be hanging in a fashion shop every day", Sakura said sarcastically.

"It's okay, I have one with myself." Hearing his reply Sakura had a strong desire to plant her face to the wall beside her but stifled it.

"Great. I have a fashion victim _and_ a cross-dresser with me. That's all I need", Sakura groaned. "Why do you have it in the first place with you?"

"I- uh, well, you see, these things come in handy sometimes!" Sasuke explained nervously, sweat making its way down his jaw. "Like at occasions like this. If I didn't have the kimono, where would we be?"

Sakura sighed in exasperation and stuck her tongue out at him. Sasuke ignored her childish teasing.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had pulled out a grey kimono with dark red flowers printed on it. There was a black festoon spreading from the hem to the other side of the chest. He handed it to her and then pulled out a hakama and a gi for himself. They were ordinarily colored, the hakama was black and the gi was blood red.

"I'm going to chance. Don't look at my direction", Sakura warned. She walked behind a tree and quickly changed her clothes. When she was finished she walked to the gates to see Sasuke already waiting. She had to admit, he looked drop-dead gorgeous with those clothes and she had to keep herself from drooling. She mentally slapped herself and regaining her sanity she walked to him.

"I guess it begins", she muttered as Sasuke offered her his arm and grinned stupidly. _How uncharacteristic. Sakura thought. She took his arm and they entered the village._

***

* The staff of Magius, from the series Dragonlance made by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman


	6. the Summoned Ones

Sixth chapter: the Summoned Ones

Sakura looked around her. The whole village wasn't up yet but women buying food and other supplies could be seen walking around the market. There were little children running around their mothers' hems, playing with each other. Sakura couldn't help but to smile at this. The atmosphere was so comfortable, without any stress and gloominess in it. How she longed that kind of way to live, but once she had chosen the path of a missing nin, there was no returning back.

Sakura glanced at the ground. Whoops.

"We forgot to change sandals, Uchi- erm, Sasuke -uh, -kun." She couldn't get the right words out of her mouth immediately. This was going to be a long day. Sure, in the past calling him 'Sasuke-kun' had been natural for her but now it just didn't feel right. 'Uchiha' was much more like it.

"Aa", was Sasuke's calm reply. Without paying attention to Sakura he observed their surroundings. It was a normal village with normal people. He found it hard to believe that there was some kind of mafia going around. But then again, the creepiest things always were there where they were the least expected. "You came from here to meet me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did you notice anything weird around here?" Sasuke was now looking absent-mindedly at Sakura. Her pink tresses brushed her cheek softly as they danced with the wind. Her pink tresses brushed her cheek softly as they danced with the wind, and for a fleeting moment, her expression was eerily serene. Sasuke found himself thinking quite suddenly that without the mocking grin that creased her fair-skinned features, she was actually beautiful. 

Sakura thought about it for a moment before answering. There hadn't been anything suspicious around when she had been there-

"That man!" she cried out loud. Right after that her hand flew over her mouth to silence herself. Sasuke pinched the flesh on her arm painfully.

"Yeouch!" she was taken off guard and growled silently. "What was that for?" She glared at Sasuke.

"Don't be so loud." He held a pause, taking in what she had said. His hand found its way to the pocket in his hakama and curled into loose ball. "What about this guy?" They were walking along a street that would lead them to the center of the village. He couldn't see anything hazardous around them so he turned to look at Sakura. The usually cheery ninja was now muttering something at him, sulking.

"Well, there was this strange man whom I bumped into. He didn't do anything shady but he was really strange looking and had an absolutely insane laughter." Sakura's description of the young man was vague and left Sasuke itching with questions.

Nevertheless, the young Uchiha put the thoughts about the stranger aside for a moment and focused on their appearance. He noted that they had moved away from each other, shattering the picture of a young couple in love they were supposed to be. Sasuke thought that people -especially adolescent people- who loved one other often held hands or rested their arms on other's shoulder. He wasn't truly experienced when it came to love so his knowledge was based on observing different people. On the other hand, watching others wasn't as easy as it looked like -with all the Leaf's hunter nins constantly behind him. But whenever an occasion like this emerged he made use of it and tried to settle for normal life around normal humans.

Sakura gazed lazily around her, not really needing to be continuously on alert. The villagers were waking up, keeping the streets busier and full of talk. She tried to spot any kind of abnormality that would require their attention. None in sight, her eyes slid to the little shops before them. The fruits and vegetables were fresh and inviting and they reminded her stomach about the habit of eating. A low growl erupted from her insides and she eyed the fruits hungrily.

"Could we get something to eat? I'm starving", she uttered her need for food aloud.

Sasuke's lips twitched to a small mocking smirk and he followed her gaze. It led straight to those juicy, delicious-looking foods and his hunger awoke. His stomach, too, betrayed him and rumbled lowly. Sakura heard it and cast an amused glance at him.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who's starving here." A crooked grin spread on her face and she pointeda finger at his chest.

Sasuke ushered her hand away with a soft slap from his own and stopped. He pulled Sakura closer to him and said, "We have to look like we're some idiotic teenagers in love."

Sakura made a blunt grimace at him puffing her cheeks and sticking her tongue out. _Seriously, how boring could he get? She rolled eyes. Her current emotion was that of complete boredom. _

Sasuke let a dry laughter escape his lips at her expression and then his face became stern again. "Come on, let's make the plan work", he commanded and pulled her arm to rest on his. It wasn't uncomfortable, or it wouldn't have been uncomfortable if Sakura hadn't started squeezing his flesh aggravatingly.

"Could you please stop that?" Sasuke cast a meaningful look at Sakura's hand that was making him feel slightly irritated. The shorter ninja looked innocently at him.

"Stop what?" She played dumb to annoy him even more. Her large jade eyes looked at his black mirrors only to be reflected back. Sasuke put his palm over her hand.

"Pinching me. It's quite unpleasant." He removed his hand and arm from her grip and put it around her shoulder, sighing in exasperation. _How can this woman be so immature? She's twenty for God's sake!_

 Sakura squirmed a little but returned sharply, "This better be nothing personal. I dislike you as much as you dislike me." She began to pad forward like a modest young lady would, taking short steps to match the flowing of her kimono. She fiercely wondered how women could wear such clothes, feeling that the only meaning for the kimono was to make her feel as uncomfortable as possible. Her hand snaked itself a way around Sasuke's waist in return for his arm around her shoulder.

They went to the nearest small shop where an old lady was selling fruits. The pudgy woman noticed them and plastered her best selling smile over her face.

"What would the young couple want?" the elderly woman asked making a showing motion with her arm towards the fruits.

Sakura and Sasuke's Inner Selves made a meeting of minds and cast a disgusted look at the seller. On the outside, both were smiling stupidly and widely like lovebirds ever with their cheek muscles strained. They giggled foolishly at each other and started the act.

"Oh, whatever my beloved Juicy Cheese would want!" Sakura chirped. She tugged Sasuke closer to her and pinched his cheek. This couldn't truly convince anyone, could it? People were definitely getting stupider if they would fell for their act.

Sasuke was motionless until the sharp stretch on his cheek. He faked a pleasant smile on his lips and silently promised her that he would pay her for the name 'Juicy Cheese' as it was. Two could play this game.

He brought his hand behind her back and to her side and then crushed her against him. Sakura let out a muffled yelp but managed to keep the sweet smile on her face. If they had to play lovers then they should go at it with all they had got.

"You know I want you to decide for the both of us, my Sugar Coconut." Sasuke's voice was unfaltering and Sakura almost fainted at the realness of it. 

When did Sasuke learn to act?

"Oh, right. We have the same taste, anyway." Sakura's reply made a small crack to the mask of their faked love. Sasuke gritted his teeth and hoped that the saleswoman didn't notice anything. It wasn't her business the least bit.

Sakura was still leaning heavily against Sasuke's side when she made her decision.

"We'll take two mangos. And one pineapple."

After making her order, Sakura leaned to Sasuke and whispered to his ear, "You do have money, right? Because I don't." Sakura grinned sheepishly at him and returned to her position at the tall man's armpit.

The Uchiha removed the bag from his shoulders and tugged the strings open. Then he pulled out a small leather pouch.

"How much is it?" He asked the seller, opening the leather pouch. His other hand still hooked around Sakura's waist it was pretty hard to get the money out of the pouch. He brought the small bag under the pink-haired kunoichi's nose. "Could you-" He never finished the sentence before Sakura hastily nodded.

"One hundred and eighty yens, please." The lady picked the fruits from the shelf and put them to a paper bag. Sakura took the money out of Sasuke's wallet and handed it to her as the vendor gave Sakura the bag.

"Thank you", Sakura and Sasuke said simultaneously and smiled widely. The elderly woman mumbled something in return, her politeness and cheeriness lost.

They turned around to leave the little store, still side by side, arm in arm. Sakura made a small fake giggle to fool the merchant but as soon as they were out of the woman's sight they leapt away from each other, coughing and brushing their clothes, as if the other one would have dirtied them. Sakura eyed Sasuke with disgust and suspicion and Sasuke eyed back.

"Well. That went well, didn't it?" Sakura's question was more of a statement than a question. Sasuke merely nodded and then reached out a hand to grasp the bag where the fruits were. His fellow ninja noticed this and clutched it tightly to her chest, taking a step backwards.

"Oh, no you won't." Sakura took another step back. _Eat them all by yourself_, she added in her mind.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this and took a step forwards. _I can play this game, too, my pitiful companion._ The green eyed girl stuck her tongue out at him, a childish habit that had its power over her. Taking yet another step forward she peered to the bag and saw the juicy fruits. Her mouth watered at the sight of them and she had to close her mouth to stop the drooling.

She glanced over her shoulder to see if there were any objects behind her that would be uncomfortable to collide with but that was the brief moment Sasuke had been waiting for. He snatched the bag from Sakura's hands flashing at her a victorious smile and when she looked at him, her eyes filled with disbelief. Then her shocked expression turned into a mocking one.

The bag in Sasuke's hands turned into a puff of smoke and when the grey cloud resided it left only a small piece of wood into his hands.

How had she done it? He had been looking at her the whole time! Sasuke was awestruck at her speed that had seemingly increased rapidly since the last time he had seen her.

 Sakura burst into fit of laughter when she saw the mighty Uchiha's face from behind the smoke.

"Why, you-" Sasuke jumped at her but she had already regained her senses and started running away from him. The young male ninja started following the girl but she had already made a fair distance between them. A hint of admiration towards the woman lingered in his mind. He could only see a pink head bobbing here and there in between the occasional villagers.

Nevertheless, he ran after her. He couldn't stand the thought that Sakura would eat all the food alone. It was very uncharacteristic from him to be so concerned of himself; in fact he was never worried about anything at all. But now he realized that he was so hungry that he would starve to death if he didn't get anything to eat. Suddenly, he remembered his wallet.

Did she take it too?!

He tried to search for it from his bag but he found nothing.

Damn. Damn that thief.

His swearing was cut off by the sight of Sakura's hair. She had stopped to let an old man with huge packages to cross the road before her. She was so close that he only had to reach out his hand and grasp her shoulder. When he turned her around with a firm push to the shoulder he heard Sakura gasp slightly.

The Uchiha looked at her. "Had a nice time?" They were standing beside a huge wall that towered over them. The wall shadowed them from the warm rays of the rising sun.

For a moment they forgot other people around them and just glared daggers at each other. The staring contest ended with Sakura's win when Sasuke had to wipe dust away from his eyes.

"Victory!" Sakura held out two fingers high in the air, grinning triumphantly. "Whew. I haven't done that in quite a time." Her hand passed by her forehead and the other one still clutched at the fruits tightly.

"Don't squeeze the life out of our food!" Sasuke's warning rang to deaf ears as Sakura didn't loosen her grip. Sasuke sighed in exasperation and let his hand fall to his side. He presumed that Sakura wouldn't run away for the second time. He looked at her questioningly and stuffing his hands to his pockets he said, "So. What are you going to do with our food?" The black haired man was getting annoyed at his companion's childish behavior.

Sakura pouted her lips innocently and opened the papery bag. Suddenly her eyes widened.  "Why the hell did I buy only one pineapple?!" Astounded by her own stupidity she couldn't do anything but stare at the bag, mouth gaping.

"You and your IQ", Sasuke muttered. "We're going to have tough time sharing it." He then took Sakura's arm again, this time more gently. Sakura didn't protest but laid her hand quietly against his. The feeling of the rough fabric teased her skin.

"Well? Are we going to eat?" Sasuke casually asked as they began to walk back to the center of the village. "You ran quit a bit, didn't you?" They strolled seemingly absent-mindedly through the streets. Now the people were almost fully awake and it was getting crowded, making it more difficult to proceed.

Sakura glanced at Sasuke but when he didn't seem to really expect an answer she didn't give him one. She just took out one mango and handed it to Sasuke who accepted it without a word. They ate in silence sauntering like normal people with normal chores.

At that moment, it would have been hard for anyone to believe that they were both actually deadly missing nins with terrible burdens over their shoulders. That they had been haunted for a time so long that neither could remember a time when they had been free. That they shared those dark times with silent companionship. Without suppressing it in words, they supported each other with just being there. That was why they hated -and loved- each other so much. The other knew too much about the other, leaving no secrets or walls between them.

 Something freezing splashed over her. She felt like she was not present, not in this world, but nonetheless, her body was crushed against something solid and very hard. It was like watching herself from above, outside her body. Everything else was cloaked in darkness but she could see herself, lying crouched in the middle of that darkness. Her arm was covering her face and the other was hugging her legs tightly against her chest.

She blinked once, twice, but could see nothing else. It was very weird, looking at herself, but then, from where was she looking? She turned her eyes from the resting form to herself. She was there, floating above herself. But while her actual body was lying in that darkness, her floating self was examining the body beneath her.

_What is this?_

The darkness seemed to have swallowed her. She was too confused to be scared. Something fluttered softly against her thigh, caressing her. It was the dress she was wearing, a plain white dress. 

_Where am I?_

She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out, nor did her mouth open. She had lost her control over her body, she could only see.

There it was again. That freezing sensation, rushing over her. Nothing in the view changed, only a heart-freezing touch on her skin. She shivered slightly.

_Is this me?_

From somewhere came a white little light. It floated down to her, dancing before her eyes like a feather before landing in front of her. The light made small ripples on the surface of the black water. The circles reached her feet and sent a warm tingle through her toes into her entire body.

She reached out a hand, now noticing that she could move, and touched the light. It felt solid yet very light. She lifted her hand, the light on the tips of her fingers.

_Why is this happening?_

With the light in her hands, she looked at herself once again. Her body glowed. Her eyes turned to her solid being and it was still there, unmoved. The clothes on her were worn and stained. Blood trickled from her mouth in a small stream and her face was clotted with the same red liquid.

She took a step closer to the form lying in the darkness. Then another step, and another. Her feet raised small ripples in the blackness that was like velvety water. She stepped forward until she was so close that she could touch her. Reaching out the hand where the light was she brought it to the face of the unmoving body. Bringing out a finger she moved it slowly along the line of her jaw.

The light floated from her hand to the forehead of her solid form and placed itself there. She drew in a little breath when the light sunk under the surface of the snow white skin. She felt herself being drawn to the body and then she understood.

_This is a dream… I'm dreaming in my mind._

An empty feeling filled her, replacing the warmth of the small light.

_Am I truly like this?_

Settling herself to kneel beside her body she took her hand to hers. It was cold, so very cold.

_Am I dead? Is this what death is like?_

Her body seemed to rest peacefully in spite of its broken state. No sign of self-loathing touched her face. Only the horrible scars marred her calm features. She slid a palm under her bangs to her forehead and rested it there.

Tell me.

A voice came to her mind. The soft, yet demanding voice filled her ears.__

_What?_

Tell me what you feel.

_…It's cold._

Why is it cold?

_I… don't know._

She looked around but there was nothing. The darkness surrounded her from everywhere, as if she had gone blind. Then something mysterious caught her attention. A faint of light had spread around her, in the shape on a spiral. It didn't reach far but it lighted the darkness gently.

She could no longer hear the voice talking to her and it made her feel lonely. Even though it had been an unknown voice it had taken the silence away.

Her solid form moved. It turned to its back and coughed a little. Then her vision blurred and she couldn't see anything.

 Hinata woke up with a feeling of someone's soft lips pressed against hers. Her lungs filled with oxygen causing her to feel extremely horrible and she had to suppress a cough. She tore away from his lips to cough out blood on the side. Then she could breathe again but it was shallow and difficult. She rested her back against the ground heavily, exhausted.

Neji watched his cousin who was lying on the ground, or actually on an oddly thick tree branch where he had carried her. He had probably saved her life. They had drifted to the shore and Neji had found her breathless, her body crouched over a rock. Her breathing was now growing regular and calm. He slid a comforting hand to her forehead and rested it there, finding a strange feeling of calmness surround him.

Naruto was sitting on the branch too. Glancing at Neji and Hinata he felt a small twist of pain inside him that was certainly of no physical injury. He turned away from them, confused of his feelings. He sat on the branch crossing one leg under him letting the other swing high above the ground.

They were in a forest near the river where they had nearly drowned. The forest looked much like the one where the unfriendly village had been but Naruto definitely hoped that there wouldn't be a village here like the one they had encountered. They needed time to recover, especially from the fatal fall to the river but Hinata was still in a very bad shape because of the injury in her eyes. Neji had noticed that she had grown a fever and they were hoping that her temper wouldn't rise any higher.

Neji glanced at Naruto and saw that he was observing their surroundings absently. He hadn't felt anything near them when they had chosen the tree as their resting place and he still felt nothing peculiar. Hinata had fallen asleep, her head leaning against his leg. Her hand had somehow found its way to Neji's hand and was now holding it nearly without strength. Neji grasped it, just to be sure that when she woke up, she'd know that he was there by her.

"Do you know if there is a village or town near here?" Neji looked at Naruto.

The younger man shrugged his shoulders and thought about his answer for a while. He wasn't particularly familiar with this place but he remembered reading some books about the forest. "If I remember correctly, I think there is a village not very far from here."

 "Do you know how far?"

"About… Five miles, I'd say."

Neji fell silent thinking about their situation. Naruto and he were uninjured except for little bruises but Hinata was in a bad shape. Her fever wasn't too high but the wound in her eyes had to be very painful. Neji could only imagine what Hinata had to go through when she endured the pain without complaining. He hoped that Hinata would stay up for a little while so that she could tell what herbs would help her.

If the nearest village was in the distance of five miles it shouldn't be a problem if he had to carry Hinata there. And of course, Naruto could help -not that Neji wanted him to. He had instantly noticed that Hinata and Naruto's relationship was close. Even though they had never been very close in their childhood Neji had known that Hinata had harbored a deep affection towards Naruto. It wouldn't take much to awake those feelings in her and that was a thing Neji didn't want to happen. He didn't know why, but it made him feel like he'd lose something very important to him if he let Hinata love Naruto.

Neji was drawn away from his thoughts by Hinata's coughing. He instantly held her hand tighter to comfort her. He wished that Hinata was sleeping a dreamless sleep so that she could regain her strength. Naruto came to sit beside Hinata too and looked at her, a concerned expression darkening his bright features.

"You'll be alright, Hinata", he whispered to her encouragingly. He brushed a few dark blue bangs from her forehead, soothing the feverish skin with his cool hand.

Hinata woke up with a feeling of two pairs of eyes looking at her. Her back was leaning against something hard, a tree perhaps, and her hand was held by another one. She knew it was Neji, she would have recognized that hand anywhere. There was also a calming hand on her forehead that belonged to Naruto. Those rough but still so very gentle hands had held her before, not many times, but those times were embedded into Hinata's mind.

Hinata licked her lips and Neji thought that she must be terribly thirsty. He helped her up to lean against the trunk and held a water bottle for her to drink. Hinata drank a little but found that her throat was so parched that it couldn't tolerate much of water at once. She sighed and handed the bottle back to Neji.

"When are you ready to move on, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked her. He didn't want to rush her but knew that they would have to leave as soon as possible.

"I'm ready anytime you are." Hinata was actually so tired that she could sleep for another twelve hours but she didn't want to be a burden.

But as usual, Neji saw right through her act. "You've never been good at lying, at least not in front of me", Neji whispered to her so quietly that only she heard it.

A faint blush rose to Hinata's face. Why did he have to make her so flustered? She was embarrassed of her body that betrayed her once again by blushing in a time when it was least welcomed.

"I can carry you." Neji was now speaking normally because Naruto was paying more attention to them. Naruto looked strangely at the faint red on Hinata's cheeks but decided to drop it.

"I don't want to be a burden, Brother Neji." Hinata tried to assure the two that she was perfectly fine and capable of taking care of herself.

Neji sighed. How could he make Hinata understand that she wasn't a burden? That he only wanted to help her? How could such a timid person be so stubborn? Apparently there was again no other choice.

He looked at Naruto and motioned for him to stand up too. They were leaving now. Hinata quickly stood up too, hearing the two get ready. Then suddenly she was once again lifted to Neji's back without her permission. She was getting familiar with the feeling of being carried but that didn't stop her from refusing.

"No- I told you- I'm fine, Brother Neji." Hinata stuttered and tried vainly to get down from Neji's firm grip.

"I'm sure you are", Neji murmured to her silently but didn't let go of her.

Hinata sighed in resignation and leaned her head on Neji's lightly. Then she suddenly remembered their food. Where had it disappeared?

"Did our food sink to the water?"

"No, it's in Naruto's bag. I can't carry it when you're on my back."

She noticed that she hadn't been really hungry ever since this journey began. How long had it been? Three days? Four? Hasn't it really been longer than that? It feels like months. So much has happened… She wondered if they'd ever be able to get back alive.

They journeyed in silence, on the tree branches. They were ninjas to their soul and had grown the habit of running on the trees, an easier and faster way than on the ground. They enjoyed the feeling of wind brushing their faces, leaves caressing their features, the shadows the trees created over them.

After a while of running Naruto stopped them. They came to a halt, but Neji still didn't let Hinata stand on the ground; instead, he held her tight to him.

"Somebody has been here just a while ago. Look." Naruto pointed at an area below them. They could see a small bridge and aspens decorating the side of the dark forest. There was a small clearing in the middle of everything and Naruto could clearly see footprints on the green grass.

Neji closed his eyes to focus on the feeling of their surroundings. "I don't feel anything ominous."

Naruto and Neji just looked around them for a while, trying to see any marks of living persons. Finding none, they silently decided to go on. In a short while they reached the village's borders. The massive walls didn't feel welcoming and Hinata had to suppress a sudden feeling of chill creeping up her spine.

They stood hesitating for a while outside the village but then Naruto decided that the waiting wasn't going to get them anywhere and gestured Neji and Hinata to follow him. They entered the village earning quite a bit of attention with Hinata's slumped form, though she tried to straighten herself so they wouldn't get into trouble. It was mostly Naruto and Neji who were in danger; who could tell what the villagers thought they had done to her?

Hinata's eyes, or rather, the remains of her eyes, attracted their own number of attention to themselves. She could hear people whispering, even though quietly, about what had happened to her. They were guessing that maybe those men did it to her or maybe she was attacked. Hinata smiled sarcastically to herself. Well, the attacker had gotten what he deserved, a quick death by Neji's hand. Then a flash of memory suddenly came to her; it was like the memory had been waiting for an opportunity to come to her.

She remembered how Neji had kissed her to silence her. Her hand flew instinctively to her mouth and vague thoughts raced in her mind. A heat rose to her face again. Her childish half wondered why Neji had kissed her like that even though they were cousins. Well, it wasn't in the meaning of an actual kiss but still… Neji hadn't said anything about the kiss so Hinata presumed that he, too, had forgotten.

However, Neji hadn't. Actually, the memory of the kiss was lingering in his mind in the exact moment. He remembered how Hinata's lips had been so soft even if they were blood-soaked and dry. He was rather disturbed of his own feelings, how his body reacted to Hinata's warmth on his back. He wanted to just hold her, hold her tightly so he would always remember…

 Sasuke and Sakura had been looking for the man nearly everywhere. They were getting bored of their task and had sat down on a bench to rest for a while. Sakura hummed in a happy tone while Sasuke just looked plain annoyed. He tapped his foot to the ground and sighed in exasperation once in a while.

Sakura soon got bored of her fellow's act. She cast an angry glare at him and pointed him hard on the chest with her finger.

"How can you be so frustrating?! Are you never still, always shifting around like there were ants in your hakama?!" Her green eyes blazed at him like he was to be blamed of all the world's problems.

Sasuke didn't react. He continued to tap his foot to the ground and look like everything was nagging him right then. His eyes shifted from the emptiness he had been staring at to her and the fierceness in his look made Sakura stumble aback on the bench. After staring at Sasuke her mouth hanging open a few moments she leaned her back against the bench.

"Fine." She huffed a breath of irritation and muttered something about annoying bastards who didn't know their place.

When Sasuke was concentrating on looking as bored as he could he didn't notice a strange trio of people a little farther away. They didn't go unnoticed by many others, though. Several villagers pointed at them and muttered to each other about them.

Sakura noticed the fuss and looked around curiously. The center of the attention soon caught her eye, too. It was a suspicious tiny group of people. One was on the back of another and the remaining one was walking closely near them in a protective manner. Sakura narrowed her eyes to see them more clearly and a blonde head caught her full attention. There was something familiar about it…

A thought from the buried corners of her mind now presented itself.

It couldn't be.

Sakura shook Sasuke's arm. "Look!" she whispered to him. Her eyes made a quick contact with him and saw a flash of annoyance cross his features. She rolled her eyes mentally. Well, was there a time when he wasn't annoyed? But when he looked at the direction she wanted him to she was satisfied.

"What? There's nothing." Sasuke's voice dripped with frustration and he clearly would have strangled Sakura in the second she'd turn her back to him but a strong will and laziness stopped him. He couldn't see anything unordinary in the direction Sakura had pointed to him but still observed the area intently.

Nothing.

During the brief moment Sakura had turned her eyes away from the trio they had disappeared. Sakura tried desperately to find them but it was futile: they had vanished like ash in the air. Sakura heaved a deep sigh. Maybe they were just ordinary people…

"What was so strange I had to bother to look?" Sasuke was now awake and ready to face more problems besides the one they were working on.

Sakura looked at the tall building before her before answering. "There were three people who had just entered the village. And one of them looked very familiar."

"So you think it's someone we know?"

"Well, he did resemble Naruto… But it's impossible. There's no way he would be here."

Sasuke fell into a thoughtful silence. Then a memory struck him like a fist. His eyes widened and his hand searched for Sakura's. His mouth opened but no voice came out as a small drop of sweat slid down his jaw.

He remembered a conversation he had heard some time ago when he had last visited the Wave Country. He had no idea why it was discussed there but he remembered a group of people talking about Uzumaki becoming a hunter nin. They had celebrated for it and held a party at the Great Naruto Bridge. He had accompanied the party in secret, just trying to get as much information as possible. He had managed to learn that Naruto had indeed become a hunter nin and that made him scared as hell.

Naruto had always been a outstanding ninja. If he was a hunter nin it meant that sooner or later he would be ordered to capture or kill two of the most dangerous missing nins -Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura.

Sasuke didn't like this. He had barely escaped every situation he would have had to face Naruto but now he had run straight into them. It felt threatening to stay in the village but still they had to finish their mission. If they didn't they would be killed by the hand of someone else.

"He's a hunter ninja." Sasuke's harsh voice caught Sakura's full attention and she stared at him for a while, stunned.

"It- It can't be…" Sakura slumped down as the realization hit her, her hand gripping Sasuke's tightly. She, too, knew how dangerous the situation was for them. Naruto had every possibility to kill them now that they were in helpless state.

They just had to hope that Hinata was enough to keep Naruto's attention away from them or else the end would be very close to them. Even though Sasuke and Sakura were both amazing in their skills Naruto was better. When Sasuke had been the avenger for his family and Sakura had concentrated on her weaknesses, not her strengths, Naruto had been the one with the will to become the best with all his heart.

"We're in trouble if that really was Naruto." Sasuke muttered silently looking at the ground before his sandals.

"Yeah."

As if from a silent deal they rose simultaneously and began to walk to the direction where the three people had a short while ago disappeared. They had to find out if it was really Naruto or not.

Sasuke's hand still held Sakura's tightly but neither of them noticed it nor did they mind.


	7. One Danger Put Behind Us

Chapter seven: One Danger Put Behind Us…

Sasuke and Sakura didn't catch a glance of Naruto after they headed to the direction where they had seen him go. Neither of them spoke a word, so deep in thought they were. Gone was the seemingly cheerful atmosphere around them, gone was Sakura's soothing and even voice. The usual darkness around Sasuke thickened and it felt like he was spreading a black aura around himself.

Sakura looked warily at Sasuke, scared if the curse seal might have taken over him. She sighed in relief when she saw that Sasuke's face was still as white as snow. The color of his skin was almost unnatural and Sakura had frequently found herself wondering why he couldn't get a tan. She did know that there were people whose skin didn't get nearly any color but they still got at least the smallest of colors when they spent much time outside. Sasuke had been outdoors nearly constantly in his life but he never tanned. Maybe it was the effect of the curse seal, maybe not -Sakura didn't know.

_So…__ Naruto is a hunter nin, huh? Sakura's thoughts vaguely crossed her mind as she concentrated on keeping her pace up with Sasuke's. He was walking faster than normally but Sakura forgave him for not considering the kimono she was dressed in that prevented her from walking very fast. She knew he was thinking about the very same person on her own mind. The thought of meeting Naruto made her chest hurt. It had been such a long time since they had met_._ Now that they were inevitably going to meet, it would come down to the survival of the fittest-- the weak would be eliminated. In short, Sakura and Sasuke were probably heading towards their own death._

She had never thought that it would come to this. They would have to fight for their life and die if that was their fate. But even if they won the loss of their long lost friend would take the joy with him. She had no idea how they were going to fight Naruto, their old teammate from all the people. They had to brace their hearts and kill without hesitation, emotionlessly. _I should be used to it,_ she thought bitterly.

The life of a missing nin wasn't easy but that's what Sakura had chosen. She didn't have any clear reasons why she had done it; she had only felt that after Sasuke left the Leaf Village behind she didn't belong there either. It just hadn't felt like a home anymore. But he had never, ever betrayed the Leaf, not with a slightest hint. Even if she had left the village and the rules were that those who left became missing nins she didn't consider herself as a traitor. Only the follower of her own path. She had realized that all that had kept her going, made her try harder to become a shinobi, made her desire to be worth something was Sasuke. And after he was gone she had nothing. When the sole reason she had become a ninja in the first place was gone, it seemed as if the world crashed down on her.

After wallowing in misery for years she had decided to start from a blank page in her life. The ticket to the future is always empty, after all. She began her new life, left everyone else behind -not that there were many- and headed for a better life. She sought new experiences with traveling across the country by herself. The life she led was hardly better but it was different. That was all she needed, to be pulled back from routines, from daily chores and classes.

After about half a year of traveling she had become stronger and her will to live was revived. She no longer felt the sorrow burdening her heart and was able to enjoy the small things in life. The sun that woke her up in the morning, the way the earth smelled after rain, the soft wind that brushed her cheek. The dark cloud over her was lifted and the rays of the sun made their way upon her again.

Many darker years followed her bright days in life but those countless happy days stayed in her memory. She had excellent memory -she always tended to forget the most painful and sad memories and the good ones remained. But one horrible image was embedded into her mind. The memory of the day when Sasuke had left the Village never left her. It was carved in her heart and she didn't even know why, but it still hurt sometimes. To think that Sasuke had left them all behind when he was so young wounded her, too.

Now there was a cloud hanging in front of the sun. A dull feeling filled Sakura as she walked with Sasuke after Naruto. Sasuke's uncaring and emotionless face didn't make her feel any better. But why should he be able to comfort her when he was probably as shocked as she? So she would have to make them both feel better, they'd be of no use if they were both moving around like lifeless dolls.

"Na, Sasuke."

Sakura quickly noted the weird feeling of his name coming from her lips. It had come so naturally that it felt like she had been calling him Sasuke all her life. Now the name on her lips felt like a tingling drop of liquid, burning its way to her memory. Her lips parted in surprise when she noticed that the feeling was good.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura. He vaguely noted being called by his first name but thought that it was still just a part of their disguise. But when he saw her slightly surprised expression he knew that it had come from her heart, not just from her mind. Her lips were parted and he couldn't help but notice the natural beauty of those pale lips. He moved his head a fraction of an inch up and down to tell her that he was listening if she had something to say.

"Un, do you think that Naruto has already been assigned to eliminate us?" Not the wisest thing to say. If she wanted to comfort him she would do better if she took his attention from the matter. And asking if they were walking towards their killer didn't really easy the tension between them.

Sasuke barely shrugged, clearly informing that he didn't want to think about it. How could he now? They weren't even sure if it was Naruto.

Suddenly Sakura jerked to a halt and pulled Sasuke's arm painfully. "I saw them!" she hissed between clenched teeth. Her eyes were wide but she still retained her reflexes. She quickly pulled them to a shadowy corner beside the wall, just in time to make themselves hidden from Naruto, who was rounding a corner.

 When Naruto was past the corner they heaved a sigh of relief. Sasuke let out the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding until then. He looked at Sakura and saw the relief written over her clearly. Did she really hope that Naruto wouldn't see them? Did she really want to kill Naruto like a backstabber? Did she really want to kill one of her best friends from the past? At times like this Sasuke hoped that he could read minds. It would make life with difficult person like Sakura easier.

What was she thinking right then? Was she imagining their assault on Naruto that would come as a surprise as soon as they found a good place to attack him? Was she thinking about giving up on the whole murder? Should they even try to kill him before he gave any signs that he intended to kill them? So many questions were flying in Sasuke's mind that he became dizzy and he had to lean against the wall to regain control over himself.

During the last few years the curse seal on his shoulder had taken a stronger and stronger hold of him. It became harder to fight it each day and sometimes he lost his body completely to the dark power. During those times Sakura had been there beside him. If he had tried to hurt her it were her hands that prevented him from doing anything permanent, it was her body he leaned against when a burning fever dimmed his mind. She had done so much for him but he still didn't know why he disliked her. It would have been only natural for him to fall in love with his savior but that hadn't happened.

Maybe things between them were better this way. Every deep emotion was forbidden once you became a missing nin. Sasuke had no intentions to ruin his good reputation by falling in love -his master wouldn't forgive him if he did. And after all, a shinobi must not show any emotion.

Once they calmed themselves down, Sakura and Sasuke took their place on the street after Naruto again. "Do you think he saw us?" Sasuke asked Sakura quietly. He had been so deep in thought that didn't see Naruto coming. For once, he was grateful for Sakura being there to warn him.

"No, he would have probably stopped if he saw us."

"Or he could have hidden his surprise, unlike the people here."

Sakura didn't miss the true meaning he implied in his statement. She glared at him and saw him staring at her with empty black eyes. She sighed and patted his shoulder. "Don't take this so hard. You know that we'll die someday." She returned to her place her arm hooked around his but this time she added a little more feeling to the gesture. The hating atmosphere around them decreased and increased so rapidly that it wasn't even clear that they hated each other anymore. She had lost count in the times when she had comforted him as a friend, not as the enemy she had assured to herself she was.

Naruto, Hinata and Neji entered an inn tiredly. Neji took his money pouch from his bag and vaguely wondered why it had remained dry when he had almost drowned into the river. He handed the money to Naruto who took care of the talking with the innkeeper. After paying he received the keys to the room they were spending the night in. They began to climb up the stairs that took them to the upper floor of the building. They were halted by the innkeeper's words.

"You sure are a weird looking trio, you know? Where did you lose your eyes, missy?" The man at the counter eyed them rather suspiciously, enough to push Naruto stand in front of Hinata protectively.

"That's none of your business." Neji cast an icy glare at the owner of the inn. Hinata was more than tired already, and there was no reason to exhaust her more with pressuring questions. They had paid for a good night's sleep, not so the innkeeper could meddle in affairs.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. It's just convenient to ask sometimes -you can never know when someone very dangerous comes in." The man took a defensive side quickly and didn't ask anything more. He watched them disappear into the stairway and turned back to his work shaking his head and muttering something about jumpy young people.

In the room Naruto collapsed almost immediately onto the bed. He didn't even bother to care about staining the bed sheets with his dirtied clothing. He rolled on his back and crossed his arms behind his head looking questioningly at Hinata and Neji. The cousins were still standing and Neji was guiding Hinata to the bed. Only now Naruto noticed how tired Hinata and Neji both were. Truly, they must have had a rough journey before this.

Looking around, Naruto noticed how comfortable the room was despite its small size. Two beds framed the walls from both sides -they were western-style beds, not futons on the floor. A big window giving a sight to south stood between them. A few plants adorned the corners and spread a slight scent to the room. The light from the lamps was dim and it made him even more tired. He didn't understand why he was so exhausted in the first place -he had done nothing that would require more chakra than he was used to spend.

"There's only one bed." Naruto pointed out. "I asked for a room for three. I'll go to tell the innkeeper." He was already up and walking towards the door when Neji stopped him.

"No, you shouldn't attract any more attention to us than you already have."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Naruto's hand was hovering over the doorknob and he seriously couldn't recall a moment he had done something out of ordinary in the village. When Neji didn't reply, Naruto wondered if he should defy him for the insult, but then did as he was ordered. Thinking had never been his best quality so he left it for Neji and let the insult slip out of his mind.

Naruto jumped back onto the bed and watched as Neji guided Hinata to the other bed. He thought he heard Hinata's quiet protests telling that Neji could have the bed, after all it was he who carried her all the time and spent energy on that. Neji's voice was quiet but commanding and left no room for arguments. She finally meekly complied and sat on the edge of the bed not too comfortably in case Neji would change his mind and want to sleep on it.

"Umm… Where are you going to sleep, Brother Neji?" Hinata asked very quietly, pressing the tips of her fingers together.

"On the ground."

"But I can easily sleep on the floor. I don't mind…"

"I said I'll sleep on the ground."

Hinata didn't know what was making Neji so angry but she thought it was her so she shut her mouth to keep him from getting more annoyed. Hinata's head throbbed constantly and her fever still hadn't cooled down completely. Her body felt very heavy and unwilling to do as she wanted. She wanted nothing more than to lie down on the bed -or the floor- and sleep through the day. It was still a rather early morning, after all. They had paid for the night and therefore could spend their day in the room without hurry.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at Neji's biting behavior. _Oh well, he's never been the most sociable guy…_ He looked at Hinata who was sitting silently on the bed, trying to fight the sleep coming over her. She looked so lost somehow. Like she didn't know what to do. Naruto wouldn't have known what he should've done if he was in the same state as her -under Neji's piercing stare and the victim of his anger.

Naruto shifted and thought that he should offer his place on the bed for Neji because it was him who hadn't went through as much as the Hyugas had. He wasn't exhausted thanks to Hinata's healing the day earlier and he hadn't been in the grasp of the river for as long as they had. _And they don't have a demon inside them giving more stamina,_ he thought wryly. Sometimes jealousy still filled him when he looked at carefree people around him. Why had he been cursed with the Nine Tails? Why did it have to be him to suffer all the consequences for the demon's actions? But he never wallowed in misery for very long -his nature didn't allow it. What was the use to mourn over lost freedom when you couldn't change the past?

"Hyuga, you can get this bed. I'm not nearly as tired as you must be." Naruto sat on the bed cross-legged and put his hands on his feet.

Neji didn't remove his gaze from Hinata but replied, "I have said it two times already. Must I repeat myself again?" The floor was a suitable place to sleep even though he had no sheets or a futon under him. He wasn't so pampered yet that he couldn't sleep on the ground.

Naruto knew that offering the bed for him wouldn't help anymore so he had to try another way. "But if you don't sleep well tonight you'll slow us down tomorrow."

Neji raised an eyebrow skeptically at this. "Who said you're coming with us?" Indeed, why had Naruto come with them in the first place? And where had _he been going when he met them? Now that the events that had stormed around them ever since their meeting with Naruto had receded somewhat, Neji had more time to reconsider the situation. Naruto decided to remain silent and didn't give an answer._

A silence filled the room. Hinata's feverish breathing was now louder even though she tried to stifle it as much as she could. Naruto looked at her with worry in his eyes and saw that her cheeks were tinted with an unhealthy red color. Her breathing came in ragged gasps and she looked very weak. Her hands were lying motionlessly on her lap, forgotten, and she was clearly far from being aware of anything. It wouldn't take much longer for her to lose consciousness if she didn't lie down. Why, why did this young woman try so hard to appear stronger than she was?

"Hinata, you'll faint if you don't get some sleep." Naruto's words pulled Hinata from her thoughts and she vaguely tried to face the direction where Naruto was. She had been so lost in the blackness that it took an enormous amount of effort to try to think rationally. She faintly remembered hearing a familiar voice talking to her while she was drifting between this world and her own. Had it been the one she had heard before…?

Hinata wanted to refuse Naruto's advice and remain awake-- hardly a wise to do. But dizziness stood against her will and claimed her as its own. She collapsed over her knees and would have hit the ground if Naruto hadn't jumped from his place to support her helpless form. He lifted her unconscious body to the bed and placed her gently down. His hands remained at her a little longer than necessary and that didn't go unnoticed by Neji. His frown deepened but he didn't say anything. It was not that he cared about it anyway.

Naruto returned to his position on the bed and stretched himself to the full length on the soft mattress. The time went by surrounded in thick silence. Naruto didn't know how many minutes or hours had passed by when he heard a faint sound of talking from outside. He strained his ears and picked the voice of the innkeeper speaking with someone. The other was so quiet that he couldn't comprehend what it said but listened carefully what the man replied.

"No… Yes, three people… I don't remember… Yes, a spiky hair…"

Three people and a spiky hair? The depiction was rather exact, as if the person was looking for someone. But who would be looking for a group of three and a spiky--

Oh, shit.

Was somebody looking for them? Or _him_? Then he mentally kicked himself on the back. Who'd be looking for him? He had done nothing wrong -_yes you have_- and had absolutely nothing to do with anything _-yes you do, you little bastard_. What was that annoying voice in his head just now? He rolled his eyes and turned on his side to face the wall. He found the wallpaper very interesting at the moment he laid his eyes on it. He traced the lines of the detailed picture with his finger not really knowing what else to do.

Naruto got lost in his thoughts and the present and didn't notice the pair of dark eyes following him from the outside.

The day passed by without the three caring about it. Everyone had their own questions to dwell in and they wanted to solve the puzzles their minds created. Everything had just gotten so confusing after the journey to the Lightning Country began. It had only been three days but it felt like years. So much had happened so quickly that the events swirled in Neji's mind like a tempest, and he couldn't make any sense of them. He wanted nothing more than to lower his head on the floor and sleep the unwelcome experiences away but he didn't allow himself to do so.

He had told Naruto and Hinata that they would spend the night in the inn but he knew they couldn't. Giving information to a stranger was dangerous so he wanted to hide the actual time of their departing. They would leave when the night came. Not only was it safer to travel during the time of darkness, Neji had always preferred night to day. The sun gave away too many emotions, too many actions -intentional or not.

The stars slowly crept to the sky and the lively village began to wind down. Naruto had been sleeping restlessly for almost the whole day -he had only woken up to complain that he was hungry. No longer could Neji hear the sounds of mothers calling for their children, nor the steps raising dust from the road. It was good this way -in the times of an approaching war people should rest as much as they could. Be as calm as they could. Live their lives to the fullest. It was a difficult task and hard to fulfill.

And then, when a lone ray of light from the moon entered the room a shadow blocked the illumination. Neji immediately recognized it as a human being judging from the shape of shoulders and head in its silhouette. Neji didn't move an inch but pretended that he was asleep. He closed his eyes slowly as the figure put his hands against the window. If it was a spy from the Cloud Village Neji would gain the surprise attack. He performed the Byakugan without a seal and observed the stranger from behind closed eyelids.

Hinata shifted slightly and pulled the sheets closer against herself. She had slept through the day and her fever had cooled down. The figure immediately nailed his eyes on her as she coughed. He loomed just outside the window and only now Neji remembered that they were in the second floor. How was the person outside the window then, even moving rather effortlessly? Neji deepened the space of his sight and settled his eyes on the form's feet. A strong light spread from them and Neji had to turn away to not get blinded by it. Was he standing on chakra? Was it even possible to make a standing level with chakra?

Then the sound of the glass shattering waked Naruto. He didn't move a bit and tried to look like he was still asleep. Hinata was awake too and remained in her position. Everybody knows how dangerous and stupid it is to reveal one's state to an enemy. The attacker didn't have much of a brain to shatter the glass, though. Did he seriously think that they wouldn't wake up after the racket he caused? Or was his intention to wake them?

The shadow entered the room from the window and landed on the ground in a shapeless form and began creeping towards Naruto's bed silently. Neji's vigilance was strained to the maximum but he didn't dare to move in case the attacker had something up his sleeve. He opened his eyes slowly and vaguely wondered why the assailant tried to kill Naruto first, not Hinata who he was supposed to eliminate. The shape neared Naruto and took a kunai out of his cloak. Neji started to think if Naruto was awake at all because he didn't do anything to protect himself.

When the kunai lowered on Naruto's throat the ninja jumped quickly out of the deadly weapon's way. He landed easily on his feet facing the opponent. Naruto had quickly pulled his katana from his back when he was flying through the air. Neji had not seen Naruto carrying a weapon and deduced that it must have been summoned by jutsu. Naruto took the sword calmly in both hands and flipped the blade so that it pointed straight at the assailant. The sharp edge glistened in the pale moon light and illuminated Naruto's face making him look like a ghost.

The moon made Naruto's eyes look like almost black and his hair shrouded in silver. Neji surveyed the moment from his position of leaning against the wall cross-legged. It was a surprise that the enemy hadn't fled immediately at the sight of Naruto but stayed in his place. It was like the two staring at each other were fighting the battle in their minds -Naruto's eyes blazed with pure battle lust. Or was it the Nine Tails that made him desire so much for the blood of others?

Then, when many long moments had passed by without either of them moving, the invader let out a furious yell and lunged at Naruto. Naruto was ready for the attack and positioned the sword rigidly between them just at the moment the opponent came near. The attacker speared himself to the sword and the sharp blade glided easily through the soft flesh in his belly. Blood gushed to dye Naruto's hands in its red color. Naruto's eyes gleamed in the darkness and he raised his hand to his mouth to lick the blood from it. In the moment he did that the corpse leaning against him turned into a puff of smoke.

Naruto's eyes widened hazily as a kunai from behind him was taken to his throat. The edge of the weapon drew a thin line of red on his skin. He didn't move but gripped the handle of the sword tightly. "You would do wisely to put that sword down…" The hiss echoed in the room making the hair in Naruto's neck rise. Neither he nor Neji could see the person holding the kunai, for the darkness behind Naruto was so thick that it seemed to be alive.

At first Naruto hesitated to drop his weapon but when he glanced at the direction of the Hyuga following his every move his reluctance was washed away. His eyes told him clearly that Neji wouldn't let him be killed, at least not without resistance. The sword dropped from Naruto's hands and landed on the floor with a loud clanging. After a moment that felt like forever the weapon stilled and ceased from ringing. The kunai on Naruto's throat moved slightly and no longer touched his flesh.

"Now, kill the girl on the bed." The cruel emotionless voice shocked Naruto. Shocked was an underestimating; Naruto was downright terrified by the freezing tone so unlike any other sound he had heard before. He refused to obey and when he didn't move the kunai's blade dug into his throat making a small stream of blood run down to his collarbone. Naruto winced slightly at the pain but mentally braced himself for worse. He knew his attacker was merely amusing himself. The pain he was enduring at the moment could be nothing compared to what would happen if the skilled attacker stopped playing.

Hinata had heard the order and slightly stiffened. She grasped the kunai tied against her thigh and edged it slowly away from the pouch. Neji was silently watching the event from the corner where he was sitting. It was fairly easy to sense every movement the man in the cloak made with his Byakugan even though he knew Naruto wasn't able to see the invader behind him. Neji's only hope was that Hinata would do something to defend herself when -not if, but when- Naruto came to fulfill the order he had been given. The attacker knew how to torture mentally, that was obvious. So sooner or later Naruto would lose his mind or give in willingly and he'd kill her.

Naruto began to feel his will to decline getting fainter and fainter. Was it such a bad idea to kill Hinata, after all? She had always loathed herself so he'd actually be doing a favor for her by killing her. And if taking her life meant that he would live, then it was okay too… Naruto's eyes slowly closed and opened for a few times before he started to approach his victim. He pulled a kunai from his pouch and took a few steps closer to her. All the time, there was a small but determined voice in his head, yelling at him to stop whatever he was doing.

The voice was angry, not at all as friendly and kind than the other voice speaking to him and encouraging him to go on. The gentle voice assured him that everything would be okay after he killed the girl -who was the girl anyway? On the other hand, he didn't like killing but he supposed that he wouldn't like dying either, if that was the punishment for disobeying. The mean voice reminded him of the voices that had abandoned him when he had been young because of the Nine Tails. It screamed at him to stop and get some brain into his rotten body. The tone wasn't nice, not nice at all.

So he neared the girl. The girl was probably a murderer, anyway -why else would he have to kill her? What kind of person would kill innocent people? The girl didn't look very intimidating, though. She looked more like she was scared herself, with sweat trickling down her jaw and a hand nervously grasping a kunai. That pale hand -it reminded him of something. It was a fragile yet very beautiful hand, not a hand of an assassin. Overall, she didn't look evil at all. Dark blue bangs covered her slightly sweating forehead and light colored clothing shielded her lithe body.

Naruto's hand wavered. There was no sense in killing the girl unless he asked her if she was indeed a murderer or not. He slowly reached out his other hand to touch her shoulder and wake her up but the gentle voice, now with a slightly commanding tone, told him to not touch her. Only kill her. Brutally, without giving her a chance to protect herself. Instantly, without giving her a change to feel the pain. Coldly, emotionlessly.

Naruto raised his hand. The kunai glistened in the moon light as if the lonely eye in the sky wanted to reveal the weapon. With a quick stroke it would be over. The voices were still battling in his mind but he heard them only vaguely and could barely decipher the tones. The angry voice had almost given up and was now sounding like almost praying for him to stop. He listened to it for a moment and hesitated a little.

The attacker watched, pleased, as the boy he had manipulated was slowly losing the control of his own mind. The boy had a particularly strong will but that had been crushed under him as well as the hundreds of people he had used before to his own dark intentions. But just as a small smirk was tugging at the corners of his thin lips Naruto hesitated. This startled the attacker, as this was the first time someone had enough strength to oppose his wishes. His control over Naruto decreased for a small while and in that brief second Naruto tore himself away from his reach.

Panting, Naruto turned to face the emotionless shinobi before him. Naruto's eyes flamed frighteningly as he questioned over and over in his mind why the hell he had tried to kill Hinata. He was blinded by rage and lunged at the invader with the full of his might intending to kill him with one blow. But the stranger wasn't so shocked of the turning of the tables in the fight that he'd let Naruto gain the surprise attack and was prepared for the powerful blow that met his chest viciously. But no matter how much he braced himself the foot connected with him very painfully, making him stumble backwards. Leaning against the wall he wiped the blood running down from the corner of his mouth.

Staring at Naruto incredulously he quickly performed a seal and launched his attack on his victim. But just in the moment he pulled out a kunai and jumped at Naruto something wet splashed on his throat. He reached a hand to touch the underside of his chin but snapped the hand away at the stabbing pain he felt. There was a clean cut in his throat, a lethal slice just over the main veins in his neck. He felt the blood flowing down his chest from the horrible gash. How come he hadn't felt what had hit him? He turned around rapidly, only now noticing that it was impossible that Naruto had made the wound.

He saw two silhouettes against the pale moon light flowing to the room from the broken window. Both figures wore long robes and it was rather futile to try to comprehend if they were men or women. The other had a kunai in his hand and there was blood dripping from the tip of it to the ground and on his sandals. His shoulders were slouched and he looked at the intruder from behind his eyebrows with a murderous glimmer in his dark eyes. The expression in his eyes was that of utter disgust, as if the person in front of him was offensively obnoxious.

Now the assassin realized that with the two more people he couldn't win even with his powers. A drop of sweat slid down his face and his eyes began to reflect the storm of emotions he futilely tried to hide. He backed against the wall trying to come up with a plan to save his own neck. He suddenly felt the vigorous pain in his throat doubling and was forced to bend down. He stared at the floor with his hand gnawing his throat, trying to prevent the blood from flowing through his fingers, his mouth opened in a silent scream of pain. The torturous wound was enough to drive him faint from pain and in a few moments he slumped to the ground, only half conscious.

He coughed and blood dyed his lips in its red color. "Nice… timing." The hand he had been holding on his throat fell limply to his side and his head rolled to the side the eyes still staring at them. He still breathed weakly, as if trying to grasp the last moments of his life. Naruto walked to him, pulled out his sword and in a second the enemy's head was parted from his body, ending his pathetic life. He pulled the sword back to himself and swept the crimson liquid with his hand and returned his weapon to its scabbard.

Then, turning to face the new intruders who had entered the room he gestured for Neji to stand up with him. If the two strangers had bad intentions he'd need the help from the Hyuga. Neji slowly stood up, suspicious about the other intruders. Why hadn't he decided they'd leave earlier? They could have avoided all of this if he had not been so reluctant to leave.

However, it was not possible for them to escape anymore; they'd have to face the two strangers and fight them if that was what they wanted. Judging from the speed of the other one who had killed the man they were incredibly powerful. Of course, speed was not everything but the accuracy and silence of the stroke were also very impressive. If Neji didn't have his advanced Kaiten he wouldn't be so certain that he was nearly impossible to injure. But he had Hinata to protect and that would slow him down considerably so he couldn't overestimate himself.

The two were silent as the grave but the second one glared at his companion with eyes that could kill had they been capable of doing so. His eyes blazed and Naruto noticed a familiar color in them: blood red. Combined with the pitch black dots swirling in the irises he could only come up with the solution that the man before him was the man he was supposed to kill, the reason why he had been sent on this mission. It was the man who had abandoned his village, turned out as a traitor, helped Orochimaru to nearly sweep the Leaf Village away from the world map, and killed numerous men who were his former shinobi comrades. Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto's eyes widened without him even noticing it. He couldn't do anything despite the fact that he had been preparing himself mentally and physically for the reunion. The Uchiha could have easily avoided meeting him but instead had chosen to help him. He was downright shocked and could only stare at him in disbelief. The only rational reason for Sasuke to come to him was that he had come to kill him. Naruto knew that he was strong enough to face his former rival proudly but who was the one who accompanied him?

The taller one of the two, Uchiha, then snapped one harsh word to his companion. His eyes blazed with fury as the person didn't move the least bit but instead shook his head vigorously. The silence between the two prolonged as the Uchiha glared at the other one murderously and the victim of his behavior stood his ground. Sasuke then grabbed his arm and fled from the broken window behind them. After landing on his feet the companion still in his grasp he began to run hastily along the wide street that spread before the inn.

Unknown to Naruto, Hinata and Neji, for the second time in three days a she was mistaken as a he.

Sasuke's grip didn't loose around Sakura's arm as they ran heading nowhere in particular. The woman behind him couldn't keep up with his pace and soon his hand was the only thing that kept her from tumbling to the ground while it was also the only thing that kept her in the insane speed. The grasp was painful and she bit her lip preventing the small suffocated breath from escaping. She couldn't stand the way he thought he was in command, dragging her around like this. He had always tended to be the bossy one in their missions even though he had never showed that kind of characteristic during their years at the Ninja Academy.

Finally she mustered enough strength to pull herself away from his grip and stopped abruptly, refusing to continue following him like a meek dog. He stopped, too, after feeling the powerful tug as her arm escaped from his hand. He didn't turn to face her but kept staring forward along the street that not very far from them split in two and continued to his left. He didn't show any signs of quickened breathing after the fast run even though Sakura was on the verge of fainting from the lack of oxygen. It was probably the obi she still wore around her waist tightly.

They stood like that for a long time before Sasuke broke the silence between them with a simple, yet very accusing question. "Why?"

The word split the cold night air like a dagger cutting flesh. Sakura's breathing had returned to its normal silent rhythm. She stood there, facing his fury with her hands clenched in fists. Her right hand gripped a kunai so hard that her knuckles went white. She wondered if she had ever been in such a dangerous situation with him before, it was night, he was furious and the curse seal made his emotion unstable. He could easily attack her and even though she could keep her defense quite easily she didn't even want to think what could happen if the curse spread.

She pondered her words carefully before giving her answer. Indeed, why hadn't she killed Naruto when she had the chance to do so? She had just found her hands refusing to move and her legs shaking beneath her, preventing her from doing anything. She had, for a second, felt the bond connecting the two recreate itself and was forced to back away from their plan. She just couldn't kill him. She couldn't kill the man who had so intently promised her that he'd protect her and had sworn to be with her until the end of his life. Maybe she was foolish for wasting the second she had had to complete the assassination but for some reason she didn't regret it for the least bit.

In the instant Sasuke finally turned to face her and she saw his expression she knew that she _should _regret it. He was frighteningly calm even though the blood red Sharingan eyes were full of hatred. But she didn't back away because she had the guts to stand up against him unlike most of other people.

"Come on, stare at me with all your might", she snorted despite the small feeling in her stomach telling her she would do better if she kept her mouth shut. She stared back at those emotionless eyes knowing that he wouldn't use the Mange Sharingan against her. She did not know the reason but every time he had had the opportunity to crush her with his bloodline's supreme technique he had refused to do so. So this time it wouldn't be a difference, right?

"What the fuck do you think you were doing?" Sasuke spat at her. If she had killed Naruto then they would now be freed from the burden of yet another hunter nin after them. With a few long strides he had closed the distance between him and Sakura and was gripping her shoulders painfully. He ignored the feeling to shake her violently enough to force the answer out of her mouth, and instead stared at her so furiously that even the bravest would have cowered before him. She did neither of the possibilities; she made no answer and did not fall back.

She resisted the urge to spit at his face and took a step backwards to escape the threatening aura he was spreading around himself. Not letting go of her he duplicated her actions and after a few moments Sakura was firmly placed against a stone wall and Sasuke. Only now did she show any signs of being afraid, she drew in a wavering breath which didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke. He pushed her shoulders hard against the sharp stones in the wall and she cringed slightly as a particularly sharp stone cut on her skin drawing out blood. She was very aware of the danger in the situation now. Why hadn't she thought about it before she had decided not to kill Naruto? She definitely preferred her own life to Naruto's.

Sakura realized that Sasuke's seal had broken and the black marks were spreading across his sickly white skin. She also saw his teeth clenching firmly together as the signs of him trying to stop it. His fingers now dug into the fabric of her kimono with a frightening strength as he focused on settling the curse behind the seal Kakashi had so many years ago carved on him. He was forced to shut his eyes in concentration but even when Sakura saw her chance to escape she found herself unable to move. She had never seen him battling with the seal so heatedly.

Why was the curse seal putting up so much of a fight now, of all times? It was not that he was particularly emotional right now, Sakura knew that he had been angrier before although she had hard time recalling any exact moments. Was it because of her? What kind of influence could she have on him?

Finally, after some time of Sasuke's desperate fighting to regain control, he won. His grip on her didn't loosen, though. On the brink of giving into his exhaustion, his head dropped against Sakura's. His skin came in contact with hers and the feeling was like a freezing splash of water against his face and he snapped back. He noticed now how close to Sakura he actually was, not that he really cared because they had been much closer before but right then the closeness felt disturbing.

He pulled himself away from her, just enough to put an inch between them but didn't let go of her shoulders. He firmly held her against the wall, as if trying to squeeze the answer from her with his body. But she did not give in. She stared stubbornly at him, with her jaw set firmly in a repulsive expression.

"Answer me." Sasuke's words came out barely above a whisper and his breathing was ragged as if he had ran many miles instead of fighting a battle with his own turmoil. It was interesting for Sakura to see the Uchiha to be so exhausted from a mental fight when he was hardly ever tired from a physical fight. She was well aware of her lack of an answer but decided to stay silent for a few more moments to watch him.

But when he didn't move or do anything else but stare at her with those blood red eyes Sakura sighed in defeat.

"I just couldn't kill him. I apologize for my mistake in failing to do so", she replied shortly in a cold tone. She had no desire to tell him that the feeling of friendship towards Naruto in her had resuscitated.

"There's more to it. Spit it out or do I have to force the answer out of you?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders not really wanting to let him to know more than needed. Why was it so important anyway? It was not like they couldn't try to kill Naruto again, was it? She looked questioningly at Sasuke and saw that he was deep in thought. She cut in and uttered her thoughts aloud. "Why does it matter to you?" She was honestly curious to know what reasons he had to treat her so roughly and pinning her against the wall to hard that she started bleeding. What gave him the right to do so? She could have, of course, stabbed him to the side with her kunai but didn't think that it would be wise considering the mission they had been assigned to do. Their master wasn't the type to be very forgiving, to state it simply.

Finally Sasuke came to the conclusion that Sakura was not talking about the assassination and released her. He took a few steps backwards, giving her the space to breathe easier. Sakura almost sighed in relief when the realization that nothing was going to happen hit her, but held in her breath suddenly to slowly exhale instead. She took few steps forward and halted when she was standing right next to Sasuke.

She brushed her clothes with her hands and then decided to get rid of the obi around her waist. She pulled the long black robe similar to Sasuke's over her head and dropped it to the ground. Then she reached for her back trying to untie the knot of the obi. After a few moments of futile fingering she had to admit that she wasn't very successful and cast a questioning look at Sasuke. He was, gladly enough facing the other direction and didn't see her pitiful attempts on getting rid of the belt she had herself tied.

"Uhh… Uchiha? Could you help me?" She swallowed the last bits of her pride and asked help from the man who was known for his coldness towards others.

Sasuke, a little surprised when asked help turned to Sakura who was battling with the piece of garment on her backside.  A shadow of a smirk nearly appeared on his pale lips but he quickly suppressed it and reached for her shoulder to turn her around. She dropped her hands away from the obi and left them on her sides. Sasuke couldn't see the knot in the darkness very well but after a short moment of fingering it he saw what the problem was. She had simply pulled the obi too tightly around her, making it nearly impossible to open without help.

He tugged at the ends of the fabric to no avail, only making it tighter around Sakura. She gasped when her lungs couldn't fill properly and was forced to stagger a step forward. "Stay still or I can't untie it", Sasuke commanded. Sakura's breathing didn't help the process at all. Sakura tried to stay still but one especially powerful yank almost made her fall over. "Stay still!" he snapped at her angrily.

Muttering something to herself she rested her hands against the stone wall firmly to stay up. Sasuke behind her was muttering something too and she could almost feel his breath tickling the skin in her neck. Another strong tug drew a grunt from her and she nearly saw stars in her sight due to the lack of oxygen. "Can you please tie it a little tighter so that I can breathe easier?" she asked dryly, leaning her forehead against the wall.

"As you wish."

He yanked the obi forcefully and the space for Sakura to breathe decreased still. "Shit! Don't take it literally!" she nearly shrieked at him, after flying against the wall painfully. Sasuke chuckled slightly but then became serious as the problem with the belt was still not solved. How could she have tied it so tightly? Well, he was to be blamed on a part of it, too. He grunted and yanked the obi and it miraculously loosened. Sakura let out a hiss and turned around, gathering the fabric to her hands. She then ran a hand through her hair and handed the obi to its original owner.

"Thanks for the lending. I'll keep the kimono for a while, though."

Stuffing the piece of clothing to his sleeve he snorted. Sakura picked her robe from the ground and pulled it on her again, making sure that it hid all her weapons. What they were going to do now, she did not know but one thing was clear to her: she was never going to wear proper kimonos after this.


End file.
